Secrets In The Skies
by Rebecca Cage
Summary: My first fanfic. Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey decide to take a vacation. Ash and Tracey are thrown a curve from Professor Oak. Misty is hiding a painful secret. Brock draws her out but why can't she confide in Ash. AAML. R&R! FINALLY FINISHED!!!!!!!
1. The Preparations

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. All characters are the property of Nintendo, et al. The story is the only thing that I have the right to, so do not try to sue me.  
  
This is my first attempt at writing Fan Fiction. I am doing this as an experiment so please be kind and don't flame me.  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: The Preparations  
  
June 11. It was 5:30 in the morning and as the morning sun began to rise high on the horizon over Pallet Town, most people were still sleeping. But at the Ketchum residence this morning, there was hustle and bustle mixed in with a whole bunch of chaos.  
  
"Misty! Hey, hurry up Mist! We're gonna be late! Brock is waiting on us and Tracey's gonna be here very soon." Ash called through the bedroom door where Misty was getting dressed.  
  
"I know, Ash! I'm just about ready. Be patient." Misty replied, getting slightly exasperated because she was being rushed.  
  
"Calm down, honey. You should know by now that it takes women a lot longer to get dressed than men. So many tough decisions." Delia Ketchum said to her son in an attempt to calm him and keep him from climbing the walls.  
  
"I know, Mom. I just don't want to be late. This is only an extremely big day. I mean, we are all going to be exploring a new frontier and who knows what new aspects I can get in my Pokemon training. I wonder if people will have their Pokemon where we're going. What do you think, Pikachu?"  
  
"Pi pika pikachu, Pikapi. Pik pi pichu Pikachupi chu Pikapichu pika pika chu pika. (I don't know, Ash. But I do know that you are going to drive Misty and Brock crazy if you don't calm down.) Pikachu replied to his trainer's question.  
  
Delia just smiled at her son as she noticed that Misty had emerged from the bedroom. She decided to get Mr. Mime to help her with breakfast and let Misty try to talk to Ash.  
  
"Pikachu does have a point you know, Ash. You really should try to calm down. It really won't be all that bad. I know you're nervous but according to what you told me before, Professor Oak has an idea to help eliminate your dilemma."  
  
"Yeah, I know, Mist. But it still makes me nervous because I know that deep down, even though you are afraid to tell me, it makes you nervous. This trip is going to be the chance of a lifetime and I am thrilled that you and I are going and that Tracey and Brock will be there as well since we have all shared so many adventures together already. The only thing that bothers me is that I probably won't remember most of the travel getting there. That's supposed to be the best part of the whole thing." Ash replied, looking away for a moment.  
  
Misty put her hand on Ash's shoulder and turned him around to face her. She wanted to make sure that she had his full attention when she said this. "Ash, I am nervous about what you told me. For the past several days it has had me very distracted. I don't know if you will remember anything because this wasn't my plan. But I do have an idea. As soon as Trace gets here we can go over to Professor Oak's and ask him about it before we pick up Brock. Come on, let's get our stuff loaded into the car so that we'll have enough time."  
  
"Thanks, Misty. I can always count on you." Ash smiled.  
  
"What are girlfriends for. Let's go."  
  
Ash and Misty finished loading their luggage into Ash's car and went to sit down on the couch. They were talking about their trip that they were taking aboard the new, improved, safer S.S. Anne on a tour of several beautiful islands just east of the mainland.  
  
"I don't understand what could be keeping Tracey. I really want to ask Professor Oak about his solution to my travel dilemma so that I can be sure what to expect. I wish he would hurry. It isn't like him to be late." Ash let Pikachu perch back on his head and then he went to look out the window.  
  
As if on cue, the doorbell rang just as Ash was getting up off of the couch. He hurriedly rushed to answer the door. When he opened it, he was relieved and delighted to see Tracey standing there smiling, luggage in hand.  
  
"Hey, Ash! What's up?" Tracey said happily.  
  
"Not a lot, Trace. I see you're ready. What took you so long? We were starting to get a little worried about you."  
  
"Yeah, I've been ready. Sorry about being late. I didn't mean to worry you but Professor Oak asked me if I would feed the Pokemon at the lab before I left to come over here. One of the Tauros gave me a little trouble by refusing to eat so it took me a little longer than expected. Oh hi Misty, Pikachu."  
  
"Hi, Tracey." Misty grinned, walking over with Pikachu to join them in the entrance hall.  
  
"Pi pichu pika, Pipichupipika." (Good morning, Tracey.) Pikachu greeted him as he jumped on top of Ash's head.  
  
"Say, Tracey. Speaking of Professor Oak, we were wondering if we could swing by the lab for a minute before we go to pick up Brock and head for the airport because Ash needs to ask him a question." Misty asked as she wrapped an arm around Ash's waist.  
  
"Sure, why not. I need to check on that Tauros anyway. When do you guys want to leave?" Tracey already knew what Misty was getting at all to well and answered the question skittishly.  
  
"As soon as we can get your stuff loaded. With the exception of Misty's laptop here, all of our stuff is already ready." Ash replied as the trio hurriedly loaded Tracey's luggage into the trunk. Then they went back inside to say goodbye to Delia.  
  
"MOM! We're leaving!" Ash called into the kitchen. A few minutes later his mother emerged, wiping her hands on her apron.  
  
"Okay. You guys have fun and I'll see you in two weeks, Ash. Oh, and before I forget to remind you, make sure you change your…."  
  
"I KNOW! Anyway, bye Mom." Ash called over his shoulder as he ran out the door and leapt into his car, followed closely by Pikachu.  
  
"Bye, Mrs. Ketchum." Misty and Tracey said and then turned to bolt after Ash.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
It took less than five minutes for the excited trio to reach Professor Oak's lab. They walked in and found Professor Oak looking over some reports from that morning.  
  
"Did you forget something, Tracey? Oh hi Ash, Misty. How are you today Pikachu. Excited?" Professor Oak said.  
  
"PIKA!!!!" (You bet I am!!!!)  
  
"The reason we came back over here was because I needed to ask you something about what you said you had for me to solve my travel dilemma. You told me a little bit but I need to know exactly what I am getting myself into." Ash said as he noticed Tracey look nervous and then turn to leave.  
  
"Wait, Tracey. I think you need to hear this as well. What I am going to tell Ash will be of relevance to you as well." Ash and Misty looked at each other baffled for a moment and then dismissed the comment and turned their attention back to Professor Oak. "As I was saying Ash, my solution to your situation is a relatively simple one. Since you get nervous during the first part of a flight, my solution is that you don't know it is happening at all even though it is. Now before any of you three accuse me of being crazy, let me explain. (Obviously he was oblivious to Pikachu who was standing behind Ash and making faces at him) You all know that I specialize in studying and treating Pokemon of all types, but just in the last year I have been working with a doctor friend of mine so that I can also treat humans in extreme emergencies."  
  
"That's all well and good, Professor, but what's it got to do with me and Tracey?" Ash nervously interrupted. Tracey shot him a glance and Ash could tell that Tracey probably was wondering the same thing.  
  
"I was just coming to that when you interrupted, Ash. Now please let me finish. As I was saying, when you told me about your problem with flying and asked me to help you I called my friend and got his advice. We both came to the same conclusion which is…" Ash and Tracey both drew in a deep breath. "That the best way for you to miss the bad part of flying is for you to sleep through it."  
  
"That would work but there's a problem."  
  
"What's that, Ash?" Professor Oak hadn't counted on this.  
  
"I'm too excited to be sleepy." When Ash made his comment, Professor Oak sighed and his three companions sweatdropped simultaneously.  
  
"Actually, that isn't going to be a problem. My friend sent these to help with this problem." He held out a small tube for them to see.  
  
"What are they, Professor?" Tracey spoke up this time, beginning to look extremely nervous about the answer to his question.  
  
"A very good question, Tracey. But before I answer it I want to say that this will NOT put you in any danger, just make the travel to meet the ship smoother for you. These are simply some sedatives that will make you sleep during the takeoff part of the flight. As I told you before, you won't even know that you have taken to the air until you wake up. By then you will be well underway. Now, is there anything else you would like to ask me?" Professor Oak put the tube into Ash's outstretched hand.  
  
"Yes. How much of the flight will I actually miss?" Ash asked as he felt Misty squeeze his hand. He squeezed back not as much to prevent her nervousness as to calm his own.  
  
"Well, Ash. You should take one of these at each takeoff. Make sure you don't take one too far in advance because they take effect quickly and things can get very dicey quick if you do. Since you guys are going to have a three-day flight then I'd say you won't miss that much. Each time you take one of the sedatives, you'll be out for about two hours but after that you should recover yourself rather quickly."  
  
* GULP *  
  
"Do you have any other questions?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm still wondering what all of this has to do with Trace."  
  
"Well…" Professor Oak began, placing a similar tube into Tracey's hand.  
  
"Wait, I'll answer this one, Professor Oak." Tracey interrupted. "See, Ash. I have the same problem you do. Ever since I watched you fall from a flying Pokemon in the Orange Islands I haven't been able to fly without getting nervous."  
  
"Oh. Well at least I know I won't have to go through this alone." Ash laughed nervously.  
  
Misty had moved to the back of the lab near the end of the discussion and now stood there looking pale and confused. "What else am I going to have to deal with. I can't believe what I am hearing. Hopefully I'll still have Brock to talk to." Misty thought. "What else can go wrong?" Misty whispered, putting her head in her hands.  
  
"Pi?" (What?) Pikachu asked her.  
  
"You say something, Mist?" Ash turned to look at her.  
  
"Nothing. Anyway, we should get going. Brock's probably getting worried. Let's go." Misty replied as she turned away.  
  
"Right." The boys said at once.  
  
After saying their goodbyes to Professor Oak, the group left the lab and headed for Pewter City. As they drove off, Misty got on the cell phone and called Brock and told him they were coming. 


	2. And Brock Makes Five

Chapter 2: And Brock Makes Five  
  
Just as Misty had predicted, at the Pewter City Gym where he lived with his ten brothers and sisters and worked as a Gym Leader, Brock was pacing the floor wondering what on Earth had become of Ash, Misty and Tracey who were running about five minutes late already.  
  
"Why are they late? What could have happened to them? Ash and Misty must not have a good concept of time."  
  
Just then the telephone rang and Brock ran to answer it. He was hoping that it was Ash.  
  
"Hello. Pewter Gym, this is Brock. May I help you?" He answered trying not to sound too excited.  
  
"Hey, Brock. It's Misty. Are you ready?" Misty asked.  
  
"I've been ready for an hour. Where are you guys? The plane leaves in 2 ½ hours. If you guys don't hurry we won't make the flight."  
  
"Sorry. We're about 10 minutes from the Gym. We're late because Tracey got delayed and then Ash needed to talk to Professor Oak." Misty explained as calmly as possible.  
  
"Okay. Just so long as you are on your way and nothing has happened to you, I'm cool with it. One more thing before I get off of here, Misty."  
  
"What's that, Brock?" She wondered what else he wanted to know that he didn't already.  
  
"You sound upset. A little distracted, even. Is something wrong?" Brock sounded a little concerned.  
  
"It's nothing major. I'll tell you later. I promise."  
  
"Okay. Sure. Bye, Misty." Brock said as he hung up the phone.  
  
"Bye."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"So, was Brock worried?" Ash asked distantly.  
  
"Yeah, a little but he calmed down when I told him we were close. Are you okay, Ash?" Misty said quietly.  
  
"She's right, Ash." Tracey suddenly decided to cut in. "Back when we were traveling together you were always the one who was jabbering on and on whenever we began a new adventure. Now you're strangely quiet. You haven't said much of anything since we left the lab. Wait a second. Ash, does the arrangement that Professor Oak set up to get us through this still bother you. He answered all your questions so you shouldn't be so worried. I'm not even as nervous anymore and that's saying something."  
  
"I don't know, Trace. I should have been calmed down by now but it just seems, I don't know." Ash turned to look out the window. "I can't put my finger on it, but I get a strange feeling that something isn't quite right and I think it goes much deeper than we're going to."  
  
At first, Misty thought that Ash might have been on to the fact that she was nervous but realized that she was probably wrong. At least, she hoped that she was. Ash was her boyfriend and they were living together and she loved him more than anything, but she couldn't let him figure out what was bothering her. Not just yet. She needed to get an unbiased opinion on it first before she brought it up to Ash. As she pulled the car into Pewter City Gym, Misty decided that she would find a chance to discuss it with Brock, preferably sooner rather than later.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Back at the Gym, Brock was giving the oldest of his young brothers some last minute instructions for taking on challengers in his absence.  
  
"Remember what I told you. It is your responsibility to take on any challengers with all that you have. Don't forget what I taught you. You are in charge of the Gym and the Boulder Badge while I'm gone."  
  
"But Brock, I don't have any Pokemon. How am I supposed to represent the Gym?" his brother asked, puzzled.  
  
"Easy. I am also leaving you responsible for Onix and Geodude. They both have agreed to help you and will obey you just like they do me." Just then, Brock heard a car pulling up outside and someone knocked on the door. "That's everyone now. I have given you the number to reach me in an emergency and Dad is not far away so you can call him if you have any questions other than that. You guys have fun and remember to do your best." Brock patted his brother on the shoulder before going to the door.  
  
"Yo, Brocko! How's it shakin?" Ash said as soon as Brock opened the door for them.  
  
"I'm great, Ash. You look pretty good yourself buddy." Brock replied, clapping Ash on the back before going to shake hands with Tracey and give Misty and Pikachu a hug.  
  
"Pika pi chi kachu Pikapichu!" (Looking good, Brock!)  
  
"Hey, guys. It's great that we are all so glad to see each other but we should remember that you have a flight to catch. We really should get going." Tracey reminded them.  
  
"Yeah. Tracey's right. Just let me grab my stuff and I'm ready. I left Onix and Geodude with my siblings and my brother is going to battle any trainers that come for badges while I'm gone." Brock said as he grabbed his bags and headed for the door. The others quickly followed and were soon on their way to the airport.  
  
Once they got on the road, everything broke loose at once it seemed. Tracey started going on about all of the different sketches he was going to be able to do and Ash, who was beginning to feel better about the plane situation after talking with Tracey, was chattering about bonding time with Pikachu and how he was looking forward to trying to get new Pokemon while Pikachu sat on his lap, licking at a bottle of ketchup that Brock had brought for him. At this point, Brock decided to try to draw Misty out because she seemed very distant and this wasn't normal for her.  
  
"Hey, Misty. I was just thinking that you never answered my question earlier. You just said you'll tell me later."  
  
Misty immediately tensed up and glanced at Ash who was luckily too engrossed in conversation with Tracey to pay any attention to what Brock had just said. She then brought one hand off of the steering wheel and placed it next to her face, blocking it from Ash's view. "I'll tell you once we get on the plane. You'll soon see why." Misty mouthed, hoping feverently that Brock would catch on and drop the subject.  
  
"Okay, Misty. Whatever you say. But just remember that when you want to talk about whatever is bugging you, I'm here." Brock said quietly.  
  
"Thanks, Brock."  
  
Minutes later, they pulled into Vermilion City Airport and got their luggage unloaded and checked. As they headed into the terminal with their carry-on luggage Brock spoke up.  
  
"S.S. Anne, here we come. Man, am I ever looking forward to a great vacation. This will be a great chance to relax."  
  
"You have no idea how great." Ash thought, unconsciously patting the tube in his vest pocket as he followed the others into the airport. 


	3. Misty's Secret

Chapter 3: Misty's Secret  
  
Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey, along with Pikachu, made it through security with relative ease and were now on their way toward the gate where their flight was set to take off in thirty minutes. Suddenly Ash's stomach started growling to remind him that he hadn't had any breakfast yet. He was about to suggest that they eat something but then he remembered the sedatives that Professor Oak had given to him and Tracey and he thought that he had better discuss it with Tracey.  
  
"Hey, Trace. Can I ask you a quick question?" Ash whispered, pulling Tracey aside.  
  
"Sure. What's on your mind, Ash?" Tracey was also trying to keep his voice low.  
  
"It just occurred to me that Misty and I didn't have any breakfast this morning and I am starving. I'm sure you're pretty hungry too so I was wondering, since the Professor gave us those sedatives would it hurt us any to eat anything?"  
  
"Hmm. I don't know, Ash. If you have your cell on you I can call and ask."  
  
"Okay. Here you go, Trace." Ash handed his cell phone to Tracey who walked to a quieter area to call Professor Oak.  
  
A few moments later Tracey got off the phone and came back to once again confer with Ash.  
  
"I asked Professor Oak about eating and he said that it was fine and shouldn't have any negative interactions." Tracey smiled.  
  
"GREAT!" Ash shouted, getting Misty and Brock's attention.  
  
"What's so great?"  
  
"Tracey and I were thinking that since none of us have eaten yet, and we still have a good fifteen minutes before we are set to board, it would maybe be a good idea if we got some breakfast. There is a little restaurant right over there." Ash pointed to the café in the distance.  
  
"Cool. Food sounds good to me."  
  
Soon, the four were sitting around a small table with Pikachu on Ash's shoulder and they had just gotten finished with breakfast. Just then a thought occurred to Misty and she leaned in close to Ash.  
  
"Hey, Ash. I was just thinking that maybe eating breakfast wasn't such a smart idea for you two." Misty nodded toward Tracey.  
  
"I know why you thought that, hon, and I love you for it." Ash kissed her on the cheek. "But Tracey called Professor Oak and he said it was no problem for us to eat."  
  
"Okay. As long as it won't hurt." Misty sounded relieved.  
  
Ash then noticed Tracey purchasing a bottle of water and excused himself from the others momentarily before getting one for himself. Then they walked back to the gate. Once they had sat back down, Ash looked at his watch and noticed that they had just under ten minutes until the plane boarded. Deciding that it was time to face the inevitable, Ash slipped one of the sedatives out of the tube and into his hand before slipping it into his mouth and quickly took a gulp of water to wash it down before anyone else saw. He laughed a little to himself when he saw Tracey do the same.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
When the boarding call was made and everyone started to board the plane, a storm of emotion was raging in Misty's eyes. None of her companions noticed though because Brock was deep in thought about something. Pikachu was for obvious reasons riding on her shoulder now, still licking at the ketchup and, due to the fact that the sedatives were really starting to kick in now, Tracey and Ash were both just too sleepy to pay attention to anything other than trying to stay awake for a few more feet.  
  
By the time they actually found their seats, Ash was starting to lean on Misty so he could stay upright and Tracey looked like he was about to fall asleep standing up. Luckily, Professor Oak had planned for such a thing and had arranged for the four of them to have a whole row of seats to themselves so that Ash and Tracey could stretch out and sleep comfortably.  
  
"I hope we find our seats soon. Ash is still reasonably coherent but it looks as if we could lose Tracey at any second. I'm glad this flight isn't very crowded so that we aren't displacing anyone because when we get settled these two aren't going to last very long." Misty thought as they found their seats and sat down so that Ash and Tracey were on either end of the arrangement.  
  
Before they sat down Misty had asked Pikachu to, using her as a step stool, get a pillow and two blankets out of the compartment. He immediately did so and placed the pillow on the seat next to Brock and handed the blankets to Misty. This was perfectly planned around Tracey, who stretched his legs out in the seats and, as soon as his head hit the pillow, instantly fell into a very deep sleep as Ash flopped down next to Misty and sighed as he stretched out. He then looked just beyond Brock.  
  
"Looks like Tracey conked out before he even sat down." Ash murmured, eyes drooping. It seemed to him that he was floating as he began to feel an overwhelming need to close his eyes.  
  
Misty smiled down at Ash and responded to his comment by placing her pillow under his head and covering him with one of the blankets. She then rubbed Ash's shoulders to relax him. At this point, the sedative that he had taken kicked in full force with Misty's help. Ash couldn't stay awake another second so he gave in to it and closed his eyes. The last thing he remembered was hearing Misty whisper something that he couldn't quite make out as his mind drifted into darkness and he followed Tracey into a deep and oblivious slumber.  
  
"Sleep well, Ash. I love you." That is what Misty had whispered to Ash as he drifted off. She knew that he hadn't heard but she said it anyway. Then she kissed his head softly. At that moment, the plane engines roared to life and Misty handed the other blanket to Brock and said that he might want to put it over Tracey. Brock covered Tracey and then Misty put an arm around Ash while the plane sped down the runway and took to the air with Tracey and Ash mercifully unaware of any of it as they both slept so deeply.  
  
After placing the blanket over his sleeping companion, Brock decided that he was going to ask Misty what the heck was going on with their friends.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"What's going on, Misty? Did Jigglypuff get hold of Tracey and Ash when we weren't around. I mean, look, they're both out cold." Brock asked, sounding extremely confused.  
  
"No, not Jigglypuff. Professor Oak." Misty said quietly.  
  
"What?" Brock was now completely lost.  
  
"Professor Oak talked to a doctor he knows when he heard that they were afraid to fly and gave both of them some sedatives that they took before we boarded to make them sleep. They'll be out for at least a good two hours. That's why I wanted to wait to talk to you about that thing that's been bothering me."  
  
"Oh. That explains a lot." A light went on in Brock's head. "But I don't understand why you wanted to wait until Ash was knocked out before you could speak up. Doesn't he know?" Brock whispered.  
  
"No. I haven't said anything until I got an unbiased opinion because I don't want him to overreact." Up until now, Pikachu had been keeping a vigil over his sleeping trainer but sensing the tone of the conversation, he crawled down onto the blanket and curled up for a nap at Ash's side. "It's just that being here makes me feel an overwhelming relief because I almost didn't get to come with you."  
  
"Why not. Was it your sisters?"  
  
"Yeah. But the fact that I almost missed out isn't what scares me. It's a dream I had about my missing and watching the people I love most be taken away from me forever." She was silent then as tears streamed from her eyes and Brock put a comforting arm around her.  
  
"So this is why you were so upset earlier. Don't worry, Misty. Ash, Tracey and I are here now and we don't plan on going anywhere anytime in the near future. Besides, you overcame your sisters and everything will be fine now. But I do understand why you haven't told Ash. I think you should though because, being your boyfriend, he can reassure you better than I can. When he comes to, that is." Brock tried to sound reassuring and humorous at the same time.  
  
Misty stopped crying and then smiled at Brock. As she did, she happened to catch a glimpse of Tracey. Then she turned from Brock and watched Ash as he slept. His face was beautiful and blank. He didn't seem to have a care in the world. She bent down to kiss his head and then turned back to Brock and smiled.  
  
"They look so peaceful, don't they?"  
  
In response to Misty's question, Brock glanced quickly from Ash, who had his head resting in her lap and Pikachu at his side, to Tracey, who slept sprawled out in the seats to his left and was snoring softly in his sleep.  
  
"Yeah. They are pretty peaceful. It'll probably do both of these guys a world of good to get a nice, restful sleep as well."  
  
"You said it. Ash has been working himself crazy lately with his training and he has been running on very little sleep. He'll probably be surprised at how rested he feels when he wakes up." Misty whispered.  
  
"Why are we whispering though. Those two are completely out. So much so that I'll bet you could bang drums right above their heads and they wouldn't even stir."  
  
Misty couldn't help but laugh at Brock's ridiculous comment. What was funnier was the mental picture she got in her head of her banging a snare drum over her friends. At this point, Brock broke into laughter as well.  
  
"Come on, Misty. I didn't think it was THAT funny."  
  
After a few moments of hysterical laughter, a flight attendant came over and approached the group.  
  
"Excuse me. The flight movie is starting in about five minutes and I can bring you some headphones if you want to watch."  
  
"What? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you. You can speak up, you know. Believe me, I don't think there's anything that could wake these guys for a while." Brock smiled indicating his two sleeping friends as Misty elbowed him.  
  
"I just asked if you wanted to have some headphones to watch the movie."  
  
"Yeah, sure. What do you think, Misty?" Brock asked.  
  
"Okay. Sure."  
  
"And while I'm at it can I get you something to drink?" the attendant asked.  
  
"I'll have some hot tea if you have that."  
  
"Okay, I can do that. What about you, miss?" she indicated Misty.  
  
"Water for me. Thanks."  
  
"Sure, I'll be back in a minute." the attendant smiled and walked toward the back of the plane. A short time later she returned with two pairs of headphones and a cup of hot tea for Brock and some water for Misty.  
  
"Thank you, miss." Brock said with a wink.  
  
Misty just sat there sipping at her water for a minute until something struck her as strange. She turned to Brock.  
  
"Hey, Brock." Misty asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"If you don't think I'm being nosy, why are you drinking hot tea? Are you cold or something."  
  
Brock smiled at this and shook his head. "It's okay, Misty. To answer your question no, I'm not cold. I ordered this because it has been a hectic and confusing morning with things moving a mile a minute and I was hoping that a hot drink would help to relax me. Hey, check this out!"  
  
"What?" Misty asked, becoming very intrigued.  
  
"If you press one of these buttons here a footrest comes out from under the seat." Brock propped his feet up. "Luckily there is a movie to watch or else you might end up losing me too."  
  
"What do you mean, Brock?" Misty asked simply for confirmation.  
  
"I'm just beat after all this activity, and with this tea starting to make me relax, if I didn't have something like a movie to distract myself a comfortable seat like this would be enough to put me right to sleep as well." Brock answered as he finished his drink and plugged up the headphones and put them on. Then he hid a small yawn with the back of his hand. "But I don't know, I'm so exhausted that the movie may make me sleepy instead of keeping me alert. I hope not though because if I doze off then you won't have anyone to talk to."  
  
"Don't worry about me, Brock. We've all had a very long morning. In fact, I have a feeling that, even if they hadn't been sedated, that Ash and Tracey would have eventually nodded off anyway because Ash was so nervous he was climbing the walls and Tracey worked this morning before we left. I don't want you to exhaust yourself on my account. You already said that a hot drink relaxed you and that you were tired. If you're sleepy then you should let yourself rest. Don't try to fight it just because you feel an obligation to keep me company." Misty smiled at her dear friend.  
  
"Thanks, Misty. But another part of the reason that I want to try to stay awake if I can is because if I sleep now then I'm afraid that I'll be up all night." Brock said as Misty patted him on the shoulder and put her own headphones on when the movie started. He wouldn't admit it to himself yet but Brock was beginning to get a little drowsy and he could feel his eyes become slightly heavy.  
  
A few minutes later, Misty felt Ash move a little and thought that he may be starting to come around. But really he had just put his arm around Pikachu as he nuzzled closer to Ash's chest. Misty smiled when she saw this because she knew that behind all of the fussing and the thundershocks, Pikachu really loved Ash. Then she patted Pikachu softly on the back and smoothed Ash's hair before turning her attention back to the movie.  
  
Meanwhile, Brock was fighting an internal struggle to stay alert. He felt himself starting to doze a few times and he drug himself awake thinking that if he could just not think about how tired he was and stay awake then he would really crash out tonight. Then Brock turned his full focus to the screen in front of him so he could get his mind off of his increasing exhaustion. He also pulled the seat back upright thinking that may keep him from trying to doze again. At that point, a quiet, beautiful song began in the background of the movie that they were watching. Its purpose was supposed to be a love song, but in Brock's drowsy state, it served as a perfect lullaby. He knew that he was losing the battle and he fought even harder but in the end he just didn't have the strength to stay awake any longer so he reclined the seat again after assuring nobody was behind him. Brock's eyes slid closed and his vision went black as sleep came for him and he drifted off to dream.  
  
An hour later the movie ended and Misty removed her headphones to complete silence around her. She listened very carefully but the only thing that she heard was the sound of deep breathing accented by Tracey's quiet snoring.  
  
"Brock?" Misty whispered.  
  
"…." She got no response so she tried one more time.  
  
"Hey, Brock."  
  
When she once again got no answer she glanced at Brock and discovered why he had not answered her. He was sound asleep and probably lost in dreams.  
  
"I kinda suspected that he might nod off. He was so exhausted that the music from the film probably lulled him to sleep without him even knowing it. Oh well. He'll feel better after he rests for awhile." Misty said to herself as she removed the headphones from Brock's ears, being extremely careful not to disturb him. Then she rang for the flight attendant. Misty returned the headphones and got another blanket that she placed over Brock. Then Misty turned to Ash and pulled his sleeping form closer to her. Ash snuggled into her chest and smiled in his sleep. A single tear slid down Misty's cheek as she thought about what Brock had told her when he heard her secret.  
  
"Don't worry, Misty. Ash, Tracey and I are here now and we don't plan on going anywhere anytime in the near future. Besides, you overcame your sisters and everything will be fine now. But I do understand why you haven't told Ash. I think you should though because, being your boyfriend, he can reassure you better than I can."  
  
As those words echoed in Misty's head she took Ash's hand and kissed his peaceful face. "I know Brock's right, Ash. I need to tell you what has had me so upset recently but I'm not sure how to do it without upsetting you even more so. I love you, Ash, and I will find a way to tell you the truth. Even if it takes everything I have." Misty whispered, being careful not to wake Brock. But Misty's words were in vain as Ash was still sleeping soundly and had heard nothing that she said.  
  
Misty then pulled out her laptop computer and started playing some card games against it. As she did this she wondered how she was ever going to tell Ash that she had been keeping a secret. 


	4. Dreamers Awakening

Chapter 4: Dreamers Awakening  
  
Misty sat quietly with her laptop computer running in front her. Her boyfriend and their two friends were still sleeping soundly. Misty decided to pull up her journal folder that she had created and make a new entry so that she could somehow try to sort out the turmoil in her mind.  
  
"At least I have peace and quiet so that I can actually think." Misty whispered to herself. Not long before, Tracey had stopped snoring and now added his deep, even breathing to that of Ash and Brock.  
  
No sooner had Misty placed her fingers on the keys to begin typing than she heard a small, high-pitched yawn come from beside her. She looked down to see Pikachu, who had just awakened from his nap, looking up at her.  
  
"Pikachu?" She said quietly.  
  
"Pika pika, Pikachupi. Pi chupi ka chu pika pi?" (Hi, Misty. Whatcha doing?)  
  
Misty smiled at the little Pokemon and lifted him onto her lap. "I was just playing some games on my computer. Wanna watch me play? Maybe with another set of eyes I can win more."  
  
"Pikachu!" (Okay!) Pikachu said enthusiastically.  
  
"Okay. But you have to be quiet because the others are still asleep. They all need to rest and I don't want to wake them."  
  
"Pika pi ka pikachu. Pi chupi ka Pikapichu pi pika. Pi chu kachu Pikapi pika Pipichupipika pi pika pi chu." (Oh, sorry. I didn't notice that Brock was asleep. Hopefully Ash or Tracey will wake up soon so you won't be lonely.) Pikachu told Misty.  
  
"I wasn't really worried. Its more important right now that we are quiet and let them sleep. Besides, I'm not lonely anymore. I have you to talk to." Misty put her arm down to let Pikachu climb onto her shoulder and then she went to playing cards again.  
  
Thirty minutes and several wins later, Misty and Pikachu heard a soft groan and a yawn come from the pillow in Misty's lap. If she hadn't been holding Pikachu at the time, Misty figured that he would have jumped a mile high.  
  
"Pi pikachu?" (What was that?) Pikachu squealed in fright at the sound.  
  
"It's okay, Pikachu. That noise was Ash. I think he's finally beginning to come around." Misty reassured him as Ash slowly began to stir.  
  
Misty looked down at her boyfriend and hugged him lightly as he slowly opened his eyes. Ash sat up and greeted Misty with a gentle kiss.  
  
"Morning, Mist." Ash yawned sleepily.  
  
"Hey, Ash. I see you finally decided to return to the land of the living. Actually, morning is just about inaccurate." Misty laughed.  
  
"What are you talking about, inaccurate?"  
  
"It's almost the afternoon. We've been in the air for a while." Misty told Ash.  
  
"Huh! What time is it? How long have I been out?" Ash was clearly baffled.  
  
"It's 11:30. You've been out for about four hours. I'm glad you came to, though. Pikachu and I were getting lonely." Misty said as Pikachu leapt off of her shoulder and threw himself into Ash's arms.  
  
"Pikapi!" (ASH!)  
  
"Hey little buddy. Have you been keeping Misty company for me while I was sleeping." Ash looked back to Misty. "Say, Mist. Why were you lonely. You could have talked to…" Ash stopped his words short as he noticed their two friends, who both were sleeping deeply. Misty only shook her head and smiled.  
  
"We watched an in-flight movie about an hour and a half ago or at least I did. Brock was so exhausted that halfway through the film it ended up acting as a lullaby to him and he's been sound asleep since. And Tracey was out before you were, Ash."  
  
"You have any sort of idea when we are set to change planes?" Ash asked.  
  
"I'm not sure of an exact time, Ash. I just know that it is sometime this afternoon."  
  
Just then, Ash and Misty heard a shuffling sound coming from beside them and looked up just in time to hear Brock's voice.  
  
"I can't believe I fell asleep. Sure feels good to have gotten a little nap in though." Brock yawned. "Oh. Hey there, Ash. I see you're finally awake."  
  
"Yeah. I just woke up a few minutes ago. I feel pretty good too. The weird thing is that I don't even remember falling asleep." Ash smiled. "Hey, Brock. Do you know what time we are changing planes?"  
  
"I think at about 5:00 but I could be off a little. Hey, don't you guys think we should wake sleeping beauty over here." Brock gestured to Tracey who was still in a deep sleep. "He's missing the fun."  
  
"Yeah, he should have come to by now. But he's sleeping so well that I almost hate to disturb him." Ash shook his head.  
  
"Pi pikachu pi pika Pipichupipika, Pikapi." (Let me wake Tracey, Ash.) Pikachu smiled at Ash with sparks coming from his cheeks.  
  
"No, Pikachu. If you do that you'll wake Tracey, but your liable to hurt someone else by accident. I have a better idea." Ash looked at Brock. "Hey, Brocko. Can you hand me Trace's backpack."  
  
Brock picked Tracey's backpack off of the floor and handed it to Ash while he looked on curiously. He wondered what Ash had in mind.  
  
After a few minutes of looking, Ash found what he had been seeking. It was the Pokeball containing Tracey's loyal Marill. He took the Pokeball and dropped it on the floor.  
  
"Come on out, Marill. We need your help."  
  
A light emitted from the Pokeball and then a small blue mouse Pokemon appeared and leapt into Ash's lap.  
  
"Marill mar?" (What's up?)  
  
"Marill, do you think that you could use your water gun with just enough force to wake Tracey?"  
  
"Mar, marill mar marill marill." (Sure, I can try.)  
  
Then Marrill jumped onto the seat with her sleeping trainer and first tried nuzzling up against him. When Tracey didn't stir, Marill opened her mouth and sent a light spray of water onto his face.  
  
This plan did work but unfortunately it caused Tracey to wake with a start, jolting upright and sending Marill toppling to the floor.  
  
"What? What's going on?" Tracey was still a little dazed. Then he noticed his Pokemon sitting on the floor where she had landed. Tracey reached down for Marill who happily jumped into his arms.  
  
"Sorry about that, Marill." Tracey apologized for dropping his Pokemon.  
  
"Marill marill." (That's okay.)  
  
As Tracey fully recovered his senses, a thought occurred to him. "How did you get out of your Pokeball anyway?" he asked.  
  
"We let her out, Tracey." Ash said.  
  
"Oh, okay. So your awake too, huh Ash?"  
  
"Yep. Haven't been for very long though. Sorry for the wet wake up call but we thought that it was a good idea since we are changing planes at about 5:00 and its almost 12:00 now."  
  
"That was a good idea. I feel a lot better now. All I remember though is finding the seats and then after that my memory is blank until I came to and noticed that I had dumped Marill on the floor. How did this blanket get here?" Tracey was clearly confused now that he was awake.  
  
"I put the blanket over you just before we took off, Tracey. Only you didn't notice because you were out cold." Brock answered his question with a grin.  
  
"Thanks, Brock." Tracey clapped Brock on the back.  
  
"No problem, man."  
  
"I know what you mean about drawing a blank though Trace." Ash spoke up. "The last thing I can recall is Misty putting a blanket over me and whispering something to me but I couldn't quite get her words before I drifted away. The next I knew I woke up and saw Misty playing with Pikachu."  
  
It was about 1:00 when the pilot came over the speaker and said that lunch was going to be served in five minutes. This got positive responses from everyone.  
  
"I was wondering when they were going to serve something. I'm starving." Brock said.  
  
"Pika pi pika!" (Yeah food!)  
  
"I guess you're hungry, huh Pikachu." Ash patted his friend on the head.  
  
"I'm starving too. We haven't had anything since breakfast." Misty agreed.  
  
"Marrill, mar marrill marrill!" (Hooray, I get some people food!) Marrill shouted ecstatically from Tracey's arms.  
  
"Well, I guess it's a unanimous vote. Let's eat." Tracey laughed  
  
Not long after, they had all ordered and received their food and were chowing down. Pikachu had his ketchup as well as some of what Ash was eating while Tracey shared his lunch with Marill.  
  
Time sure flies when you're having fun. Before the group knew what was happening, four hours had passed. It was now 5:00 and the plane was beginning its final decent. They were landing in Celedon City to change to another plane that would carry them the rest of the way to the Seafoam Islands to meet the S.S. Anne. Ash, Misty, and Brock were so involved in gathering all of their things and making sure that nothing got left behind, that they didn't even notice that Tracey had decided to go ahead and take one of the sedatives as the plane touched down. The only ones who saw this in fact, were two nervous Pokemon. One of which was a Pikachu, the other was a frightened Marill. 


	5. The Change

Chapter 5: The Change  
  
As they walked through the terminal in Celedon City, Tracey noticed that Marill was acting a little strangely. He tried everything that he could think of to calm down his Pokemon but Marill just seemed agitated.  
  
"Something wrong, Marill?" Tracey asked as he stroked her head.  
  
"Mar marill marill mar marill." (I saw what happened before we got off the plane and it scares me.) Marill cried.  
  
"Its okay, sweetheart. I'm pretty sure I can make it. We'll be getting right onto another plane and I'm not even tired yet." Tracey reassured her quietly. Little did Tracey know that this unplanned miscalculation on his part would be very difficult for his friends.  
  
When they got to the gate and showed their tickets they were given bad news. The plane that they were supposed to take had hit bad weather leaving its last destination and would be fifteen minutes late.  
  
"Oh, no. What have I done? There's almost no way I can stay out of trouble now." Tracey thought in a panic. His mind raced for ways to keep himself awake as long as he possible. Already he was gradually beginning to get sleepy.  
  
At this point, Ash had begun to pick up on Tracey's nervous mood and wondered if something was going on. "Something wrong, Trace?" Ash was very concerned.  
  
Ash's question jolted Tracey out of his thoughts. "What? Oh, no. Everything's fine, Ash." he answered distantly.  
  
Eventually a ticket agent came over to them and said that the plane was five minutes away from landing because it had picked up some of the lost time in the air. By this time Tracey was so drowsy from the sedative he had taken that he was having a hard time staying awake. He began to pace back and forth hoping that movement would help him stay with it until they got on the plane where he could collapse. At first it seemed to be working but after a minute or two Tracey became defeated by his need to close his weighted eyes and he fell into a chair and plunged headlong into a deep, dreamless sleep. The last thing he heard before he sank into oblivion was the panicked squeals of his Marill.  
  
"Mar marill mar!" (Someone help me!)  
  
"Pikapi! Pika pikachu!" (Ash! Come quick!)  
  
Ash had just swallowed one of the sedatives himself when he heard Pikachu and Marill shouting.  
  
"What's the matter, Pikachu?" Ash's eyes got as wide as softballs as he noticed what had startled the Pokemon. "Tracey! What's wrong?!?!" When he got no response from his friend Ash panicked. "Brock get over here and give me a hand! I think Tracey fainted!"  
  
Brock heard Ash's shouting and ran over to help him. "Tracey! Hey, wake up Trace! What happened?" Brock shouted.  
  
"I really don't know. I came when I heard Pikachu call me and Marill cry out. When I got here I found Tracey like this. The only thing I can figure is he fainted for some reason." Ash was concerned that they couldn't awaken Tracey.  
  
"Marill mar marill mar mar." (I know what happened.) Marill spoke up once she had gotten over her shock.  
  
"Can you tell me, Marill? What made Tracey faint like that?" Ash asked quietly, scooping the scared Pokemon up into his arms to comfort her.  
  
"Mar marill marill, mar rill marill." (He didn't faint, he's sleeping.) Marill said and then began to cry. Ash stroked her head to calm her down.  
  
"Pi pika chu pika pi Pipichupipika chu pi pikachu pika pichu ka pika." (Before we got off of the plane last time, Tracey took some of those weird things like you and he tried to stay awake but he couldn't.) Pikachu chimed in, clearly finishing where Marill had left off.  
  
Ash and Brock just looked at each other for a while. The announcement that the plane was about to board prompted Brock to speak up. "What are we going to do, Ash? We need to get him on the plane and we obviously can't wake him up. Do you think that Bulbasaur can carry our bags on for us? If you have the strength before you fall asleep too you'll have to help me carry Tracey. Can you do it, Ash?" Brock asked.  
  
"Sure. I think I can help you carry Trace. Let me call out Bulbasaur and we can get started." Ash pulled a Pokeball off of his belt and tossed it into the air. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Ash called.  
  
"Bulba bulb saur." (You called me?) Bulbasaur answered looking up at Ash.  
  
"Bulbasaur, can you use your vine whip to carry those two bags over there? We need to carry Tracey." Ash nodded to the carry on bags that were sitting near Misty's feet.  
  
"Bulba!" (Sure can!) Bulbasaur walked over to where Ash had indicated and extended his vines to pick up the bags. This alerted Misty's attention.  
  
"Bulbasaur, what are you…." Misty looked up at Ash and Brock and gasped. "What happened?" she asked.  
  
"Tracey's okay, just sound asleep. Brock and I have to carry him on the plane." Ash said quickly as he and Brock draped Tracey's arms over their shoulders and moved towards Misty. "Let's get going."  
  
When they got to their seats, Misty got some pillows and blankets, putting one of the pillows in a seat. (They had a similar seating arrangement.) Tracey came to long enough to stretch across the seats and lie down before he passed out again. Brock sat down beside where Tracey slept and helped Misty put a blanket over him and make sure he was comfortable. Then Misty sat next to Brock and Ash wearily flopped into the seat on her right and stretched out. Bulbasaur had placed the bags on the floor in front of the seats. Ash took the Pokeball off of his belt again and held it out.  
  
"Thank you, Bulbasaur. Return." Ash said as Bulbasaur obediently returned to his Pokeball.  
  
"Even though it was tough carrying him, I think Tracey has the right idea." Ash muttered. The task at hand had given him an extra burst of strength and energy but now that he was resting, Ash discovered just how drowsy he actually was. Slowly, he felt his eyes begin to drift closed.  
  
Misty gave Ash a pillow to rest his head on and covered him up. "Sweet dreams, Ash. You did a good thing helping Brock even though you were getting tired. You earned a rest. You should sleep now."  
  
Ash was dimly aware of his surroundings as he felt as if he were drifting on a cloud. He then snuggled into Misty's lap and closed his eyes, allowing a peaceful sleep to carry him away.  
  
Misty looked down and watched Ash while he slept. When she became lost in her thoughts something suddenly occurred to her. "Oh, no." she whispered. "We didn't get Tracey's backpack when he passed out back at the airport."  
  
Suddenly, Marill jumped into Misty's lap carrying Tracey's backpack in her teeth. "Marill mar marill, marill." (You didn't, but I did.) she said brightly.  
  
"Good job, Marill. Thanks." As Misty lost herself in her thoughts again, Marill got off of her lap and crawled up into the seat with Tracey where she cuddled into his arms and went to sleep.  
  
Ten minutes later Brock looked up from the magazine that he was reading and noticed that Misty was staring blankly at the floor. Obviously she was troubled by the secret that she had reluctantly told him about earlier.  
  
"Misty, are you okay? I can tell that something else is tearing you up inside. Do you want to talk to me about it? Maybe I can help." Brock said softly.  
  
Misty looked at Brock and smiled. "Thanks Brock. You really do know me very well. Something is still eating at me. It just bothers me that I can't find the words to talk to Ash about this. I love him so much and it kills me to have to keep secrets from him but right now, Brock, I just don't know what else to do. Ash has enough on his plate right now without me burdening him with my problems."  
  
"Pika pi chu pi pikachu, Pikachupi. Pikapi chu ka pika cha pi pikachu pi pika ka." (You wouldn't be burdening him, Misty. Ash loves you so much that it would burden him to see you upset and not know why.) Pikachu said, patting Misty on the leg.  
  
"You really should listen to Pikachu, Misty. I happen to think that he knows his stuff on this one. Finding a way to say something like that isn't easy but just keep looking. You have to find the right thing to say. You know I'll help you in any way that I can but you can't let this keep eating away at you. It's tearing you up inside. I can see that so I'm sure that Ash can tell too." Brock smiled, placing a hand on Misty's shoulder.  
  
"Okay. I'll find a way to tell Ash soon. But until I do, I need you both to promise me that you won't say anything to him about it. I need to do this on my own." Misty said.  
  
"I promise that I won't say anything to Ash. I know you need time."  
  
"Pi pikachu chu, Pikachupi." (I promise too, Misty.) Pikachu said, going to sit close to Ash.  
  
Misty and Brock sat talking for another hour while Ash and Tracey slept. They talked about Pokemon, life in general, and what she should say to Ash. Then Brock realized that it was probably getting late.  
  
"Hey, what time is it Misty?" Brock asked  
  
Misty looked at her watch and shook her head. "It's almost 8:30 here."  
  
"Oh. Okay. Listen, Misty, I am completely worn out from carrying Tracey back there at the airport. Its getting a little bit late so I think I'm gonna crash for a few hours. Goodnight." Brock yawned.  
  
"Night, Brock." Misty smiled.  
  
Brock got himself situated comfortably in his seat and leaned back and closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep rather easily.  
  
Misty sat taking advantage of the silence. She thought about what Brock and Pikachu had said. She knew that she needed to tell Ash the truth and it really upset her that she couldn't find a way. The decision that Misty came to was that she needed to sleep on it. Misty looked at Ash, still sound asleep in her lap and smiled. "I love you, Ash." Then she settled into her seat and fell asleep with her arm around the one person she love more than life itself. 


	6. Ash's Nightmare

Disclaimer: The scene in Ash's dream is borrowed from Pokemon The Movie 2000. I just doctored it up and changed it a little bit to explain a few things from the first couple of chapters. The only things in the dream that I can claim are the few things that I changed or added.  
  
Chapter 6: Ash's Nightmare  
  
Ash was dreaming. He was back in the Orange Islands and flying through the air. Ash smiled confidently from Lugia's back as he waved at Misty and Tracey, who were on the ground standing with Melody and watching the whole situation unfold. The danger was most definitely there as Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno flew around them launching violent attacks at Lugia from all sides. Ash could sense the nervousness coming from Pikachu, who sat on his head clinging to his hat. Everyone knew that if Lugia took a hit then things could get even worse.  
  
Then the worst scenario happened. Lugia was hit by a combined attack and went down. Ash held onto Pikachu for dear life as the legendary Pokemon that they were riding on plummeted into the ocean. Ash held his breath as he and Pikachu sank deeper into the water and Lugia went down past them. His lungs were burning with the lack of oxygen and the last thing that Ash felt before he lost consciousness was Pikachu wrapping his arms around his head and slowly dragging him toward the surface.  
  
Meanwhile back on the island, Misty, Tracey and Melody had just gotten over their initial shock after seeing what had just happened to their friend. It had been decided that Misty would go and look for Ash and Pikachu. After tying a rope around her waist and giving Tracey the other end, Misty dove into the freezing water and swam into the ocean searching for Ash.  
  
Misty located Ash when she heard Pikachu call out to her. She was completely terrified when she found Ash unconscious in the water with Pikachu desperately clinging to him. Misty swam to them and grabbed Ash with one arm and with the other she tugged violently on the rope and gave Tracey the signal to pull them to shore.  
  
Once they got to the island, Tracey and Misty pulled Ash out of the water and laid him on the ground, trying desperately to get him to breathe again. Tracey's eyes were wide with fear as he knelt over Ash, terrified that he might have just watched one of his best friends die. Pikachu was obviously traumatized by the situation because he was strangely quiet as he gently nudged Ash's head.  
  
Eventually, consciousness found its way back to Ash and he opened his eyes. As Ash looked up into the terrified faces of his friends and heard the tension in their voices, he was filled with an overwhelming sense of horror. A fear that came from the knowledge that he almost died while flying back to the island on Lugia.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Misty was awakened by Ash tossing and moaning in his sleep. She realized that he must be having some kind of nightmare and Misty decided that she needed to wake Ash up so he didn't disturb Brock or Tracey.  
  
"Ash. Wake up, Ash." Misty whispered, lightly shaking Ash's shoulder.  
  
Suddenly, Ash's eyes snapped open and he looked up at Misty and trembled visibly. He sat up and Misty hugged him against her.  
  
"What happened?" Ash asked sleepily.  
  
"You were having a nightmare. Are you okay, sweetheart?" Misty was concerned for Ash's well being.  
  
"I'm fine now. I dreamed about that time in the Orange Islands when I came so close to dying. I guess it freaked me out a little. I didn't wake Brock and Trace, did I?" Ash asked.  
  
"No, they're both still sleeping. You should try to calm down and get some sleep." Misty said as she pulled Ash into her arms and eased him against her chest.  
  
"I don't think I'll be able to get back to sleep, Mist. That dream was just too graphic and for lack of a better word, horrible. Besides, I think I'm a little too shaken up." Ash glanced at his watch and grunted. "It's only 1:00 in the morning. I could have sworn that it was later than that. If only I could get myself back to sleep."  
  
"I can help you. Trust me." Misty whispered as she held him close to her and kissed the top of his head.  
  
Misty then began to softly hum one of her favorite songs in an attempt to calm Ash. Luckily her idea worked and Ash's trembling ceased as he began to visibly relax. Ash realized that he was once again beginning to feel sleepy. He looked up at Misty and smiled.  
  
"You sure know how to relax me, Mist. If you do much more of that, you're gonna end up making me doze off again." Ash said, even as he spoke his eyes were getting extremely heavy and he felt himself beginning to drift off again.  
  
"Well, I guess I just know you too well." Misty smiled as she continued to hum her notes.  
  
Even if Ash had wanted to protest he wouldn't have gotten the chance because as Misty was humming, he became progressively more sleepy until eventually his eyes fell closed and he faded off to sleep with his head resting on Misty's shoulder.  
  
A few moments later, Misty stopped humming and realized that Ash was oddly quiet. She looked over and noticed that he had fallen asleep in her arms. Misty kissed Ash's head and yawned. Now that Ash was asleep, she could go back to sleep. So she leaned her head on his, closed her eyes and followed Ash into the land of dreams. 


	7. The Next Morning

Chapter 7: The Next Morning  
  
In the morning, Ash awoke in Misty's arms and was the first one to wake. He looked around and noticed that Brock and Tracey were both still sleeping deeply and that Marill was still out of her Pokeball, sleeping curled up at Tracey's side. Then he noticed Misty sleeping next to him and remembered that she had comforted him last night when he had that horrible nightmare and that, thanks to Misty's beautiful angelic humming, he had fallen asleep in her arms. He smiled then and took Misty in his arms and eased her head against his chest. Just then he felt something move beside him as Pikachu woke up.  
  
"Pika pikachu pi, Pikapi. Pi pika pika ka pi pikachu? Pi pichu pika pika ka pikachu." (Good morning, Ash. Are you feeling any better? I heard you tossing and moaning in your sleep last night.) Pikachu said as he carefully jumped up on to Ash's shoulder.  
  
Ash reached up and patted his loyal Pokemon on the head with a smile. "Good morning to you too, partner. Yes, I do feel much better now. Misty woke me up last night and helped me calm down and get back to sleep. I just had a bad dream is all."  
  
"Pi? Pika pikachu ka pi chu ka, Pikapi? Pi pikachu?" (What? What were you dreaming about, Ash? Can you tell me?) Pikachu suddenly became very concerned for his friend and trainer.  
  
"Well, Pikachu. Do you remember that time when you and I were riding Lugia back when we were in the Orange Islands and we went into the ocean when he was hurt and I came close to dying?" Ash began.  
  
"Pika. Pi chu ka pi pika pikachu." (Yes. I don't even like to think about that.)  
  
"Neither do I, but for some reason it all came back to me in full force last night. It was like I was living it all over again. The only thing that told me it wasn't real was when Misty woke me up." Ash said to his best Pokemon friend.  
  
"Pi pikachu ka pi chupi pika." (No wonder you were moaning.)  
  
Just then Ash and Pikachu heard a faint groan as Tracey awoke and sat up being very careful not to spill Marill again.  
  
"Good morning, Marill." Tracey yawned sleepily. Marill had woken up a few minutes earlier and Tracey was extremely confused when she didn't answer him. "Morning, Ash. You been awake long?"  
  
"Morning, Tracey. No, I just woke up myself. Had kind of a rough night last night." Ash replied.  
  
"Say, Ash. Do you know what's wrong with Marill? It seems as if she's a little upset with me for some reason." Tracey hoped that Ash would know what he had somehow managed to miss.  
  
"Well, you did scare her pretty bad yesterday."  
  
"Pika pika, Pipichupipika! Pi ka pikachu chu pika pi pika chu ka pi pichu pi pika pikachu." (You sure did, Tracey! It took me over an hour to convince her that everything was okay so that she'd calm down.) Pikachu scolded Tracey for being so careless.  
  
Tracey just sat there confused for a few minutes, replaying in his mind all of the previous day's events and trying to figure out what he had done to scare his Marill. Then suddenly it all came flooding back to him and he knew that the airport fiasco was why his Pokemon was so distressed. He picked Marill up, sat her on his lap and kissed her on the head.  
  
"I'm sorry I scared you, Marill. It was stupid of me to do what I did but it was an honest miscalculation but if it'll make you feel better, I promise that I won't do that again." Tracey whispered.  
  
"Marill mar mar marill mar marill." (Unless you're positive that the plane is on time.) Marill squeaked and nuzzled up to her trainer.  
  
Tracey just hugged her and smiled. Then he turned back to talk to Ash while he held Marill in his arms. "Ash?"  
  
"What's up, Trace? Marill okay?" Ash asked.  
  
"Yeah. She's fine. You said that you had a rough night last night. Do you mind if I ask why? You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Tracey brought the subject up carefully.  
  
"It's fine, Tracey." Ash sighed. "I just had a nightmare about that time in the Orange Islands that resulted in me almost dying back then and leading to the sticky spot we have been in so far. Misty woke me up so that I wouldn't disturb you guys and finally was able to help me get back to sleep."  
  
"I know what you mean. I've had nightmares about that plenty of times. It scared me to death thinking that I had witnessed the loss a good friend. Even though everything thankfully turned out okay, we'll both be haunted by that for a long time." Tracey shook his head. Seeing the fear in Ash's eyes and the sparks on Pikachu's cheeks, he decided to change the subject. "I really wish that I hadn't miscalculated so badly yesterday. After the sedative wore off, I woke up last night myself and like to have never gotten back to sleep. Luckily Marill retrieved my backpack at the airport and I had thought to bring Venonat with me. One shot of his Sleep Powder and I was barely able to get him back into the Pokeball before I was right back out again. Which reminds me, how did I get on the plane? The last thing I remember before I woke up the first time was collapsing into a chair."  
  
Ash just smiled at his friend and rolled his eyes. "Brock and I had to carry you. We would have had a really hard time if it hadn't have been for Bulbasaur. He carried our bags on the plane for us. It did give me an extra burst of energy though. But as soon as we got you settled in I leaned against Misty and everything is blank after that until Misty woke me up later."  
  
As Ash and Tracey were talking, the announcement came that breakfast would be served in five minutes. Tracey burst out laughing when Ash's stomach grumbled audibly.  
  
"I guess I'm more hungry than I thought." He then looked at Brock, who was asleep next to Tracey, and Misty, still sleeping in his arms and smiled evilly.  
  
"I know that look. What are you thinking, Ash?" Tracey laughed.  
  
"Watch and learn, Trace. Watch and learn." Ash smirked as he took a pillow off of the floor and proceeded to bash Brock upside the head with it. This woke him instantly.  
  
"What the? ASH! That's not funny!" Brock snapped.  
  
"We… think… it… is….!" Ash managed to choke out as Tracey began laughing so hard that he fell out of his seat and onto the floor, sending Marill leaping for cover.  
  
"Why did you do that?"  
  
"Well, breakfast is going to be served soon and we needed to wake you somehow." Ash said as he regained his composure.  
  
"But why did you smash my head with your pillow?"  
  
Instead of answering Brock's question, Ash busted out laughing again. This time his and Tracey's caterwauling was loud enough to wake Misty.  
  
"Good morning. What on Earth is so funny, Ash?" Misty was confused because she didn't know what had just happened. All she saw was Ash hunkered over and Tracey sitting on the floor, both of them laughing at Brock who was holding his head and looking both irritated and mildly amused at the same time.  
  
"Well, Misty. These two clowns here decided to give me a painful wake up call for breakfast so Ash beat me in the head with a pillow." Brock explained as he tried not to laugh at Ash's monkey business.  
  
"Sorry if I hurt you, Brocko. I didn't mean to. I was just trying to be funny." Ash quickly tried to explain himself.  
  
"No harm done. It was kinda funny."  
  
"Okay. Now if you guys are finished playing games, can we get some breakfast." Misty said as she noticed the flight attendant come up behind Tracey. The guys were too busy acting like a bunch of head cases that they hadn't even noticed it. It was Misty's turn to laugh as she watched Ash and Brock hurriedly help Tracey up off of the floor and back into his seat.  
  
After they had breakfast, the four friends began to plan out what they wanted to do once they boarded the S.S. Anne the next day and their vacation officially began.  
  
"I want to try and get a beautiful tan." Misty smiled.  
  
"I'm going to try to find out what kind of things there are to do onboard the ship. I heard there's lots." Ash said enthusiastically.  
  
"And I'm planning on trying to make some really good sketches of the ship and how it's been improved." Tracey added.  
  
"Well, I think I'll play it by ear and just take time to relax. That's why we decided to come all this way in the first place. It feels really good to get away from it all for a while." Brock said, trying to be sensible.  
  
"Yeah, that'll last until you see some beautiful girl. I've heard that's quite a sight to see." Tracey quipped, causing the other two to begin laughing for they knew this all too well. Brock just sweatdropped and fell silent.  
  
"I'll get you guys back for your little games. You'll see." Brock smirked at them, making Ash squirm. Ash knew all too well what Brock was capable of when he had his mind set on revenge.  
  
The time seemed to fly by and before any of them knew it, it was 7:00 that evening and they were getting ready to watch another in flight movie. As the movie started, Ash leaned against Misty and made himself comfortable with Pikachu sitting on his lap.  
  
"Misty sure does make a comfortable pillow." Ash thought as he watched the film snuggled in her lap. Due to having such a hard night the night before, it soon became hard for Ash to stay awake. The restless night began weighing heavy on him and sleep carried him away without him even knowing it.  
  
Misty smiled when she looked down and noticed that Ash had fallen asleep in her arms during the movie. When the movie ended at 10:30, Misty noticed that she was the only one awake. So she just settled down and soon joined her three friends in a restful sleep. 


	8. The Landing

Chapter 8: The Landing  
  
Tracey woke the next morning before anyone. The problem with this was that he got bored very quickly. As he sat there trying to find a way to somehow amuse himself, he got a funny idea. So Tracey carefully reached into his backpack trying not to disturb Marill who was sleeping on his lap, and pulled out his sketch pad. He then opened his pad and began to draw a sketch of his sleeping friends.  
  
"This is great! I just have to keep this to myself because I could be in big time trouble if anyone else sees it." Tracey told himself. He had just added a few finishing touches and was admiring his drawing when a noise startled him. He looked around and saw Misty sit up and look at him.  
  
"Morning, Misty." Tracey smiled.  
  
"Good morning. Can I ask you something, Trace?" Misty asked.  
  
"Sure. Go ahead."  
  
"This is an airplane so what in the world could you be drawing?"  
  
"It's really nothing. I just woke up and got bored so I decided to draw something. Not really one of my best drawings anyway." Tracey fibbed as he closed the sketch pad and placed it back in his backpack.  
  
"Oh, okay." Misty was purely unconvinced but she decided to drop the subject anyway.  
  
"Pi pikachu." (Oh, brother.) Pikachu sighed.  
  
The thick silence was broken by a loud, grunting yawn coming from Brock as he woke up.  
  
"Morning, guys. What's up?" Brock said sleepily.  
  
"Morning Brock. Nothing much up right now." Tracey said.  
  
"Yeah, Tracey and I were just talking." Misty smiled.  
  
"Oh, okay. Ash awake yet?"  
  
"No. He's still asleep. He was pretty tired yesterday so I'm going to let him sleep for a while longer. He needs to rest right now." Misty whispered. She then smiled down at Ash who appeared to be lost in peaceful dreams as he snuggled into her arms.  
  
"Well you can't let him sleep too much longer. We're going to be landing in about an hour." Tracey reminded her.  
  
"Yeah, I know. I'll probably wake him in about fifteen minutes. That way we'll have plenty of time to get everything together before we land in the Seafoam Islands."  
  
Fifteen minutes later Misty decided that it was time to wake Ash. She reached down and gave him a gentle shake and a kiss. After a moment Ash's eyes fluttered open and he smiled up at Misty.  
  
"Good morning, Mist." Ash yawned.  
  
"Good morning to you, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?" Misty asked.  
  
"Yep. I slept like a rock last night. You make an excellent pillow." Ash said with a grin. "I'm still tired though. Why did you have to wake me up?"  
  
"I didn't really want to because I know you could have used the rest but the plane is going to landing in 45 minutes and we need to make sure we have all of our things together."  
  
"Oh, okay. I guess there is an advantage to it. At least I'll sleep well tonight on the ship." Ash said as he kissed Misty's cheek.  
  
"I think we all will." Brock said as Tracey nodded his agreement. Then they all began gathering their things and getting ready to disembark once the plane landed in the Seafoam Islands.  
  
A few minutes later the announcement came for everyone to prepare for landing and as the four friends finished gathering their things and strapped in, they could feel the plane begin its final decent.  
  
Once the plane touched down, everyone started getting their things and disembarking. Pikachu leapt onto Ash's shoulder as he wormed his way into the crowd followed by Brock and Misty. Tracey put on his backpack and carefully picked up his sleeping Marill and quickly went after the others.  
  
When they got into the terminal, the group went to get their checked luggage off of the carousel. Then they went and rented a car that they would drive the hour trip that remained to get to the port where the S.S. Anne was docked. After settling all the details, Misty came back and joined her three friends and handed the keys to Brock. She had driven to the airport and now it was his turn. Once they found their rental vehicle they loaded their bags into the trunk and loaded in to begin the drive.  
  
"How long to we have until the ship sets sail." Brock asked.  
  
"We have three hours. That should be plenty of time to get there and check in so that we can settle in and maybe even watch the ship set sail. I think that would be a wonderful sketch that I could start with." Tracey said. He was sitting in the front passenger seat beside Brock and Ash and Misty were sitting in the back. Through the rear view mirror Tracey noticed that Ash was playing with Pikachu and Misty was staring off into space, looking distracted and very worried.  
  
"What's up with Misty? She looks like she's a thousand miles away?" Tracey asked Brock.  
  
"Well, all I can tell you is that she has a lot on her mind right now." Brock sighed heavily. "I wish there was something that we could do to help her and I tried a couple of times on the plane while you and Ash were sleeping, but I think that this is something that she just has to deal with in her own way and on her own time."  
  
"Oh. Okay. I guess I just don't get women sometimes." Tracey smiled and Brock simply shook his head.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Misty was trying to figure out how she was going to reveal what she had on her mind to the one person that was the world to her. Suddenly, a welcomed voice broke her out of her reverie and brought her back to the real world.  
  
"Mist?" Ash whispered.  
  
"Hmm."  
  
"Are you okay. You seem a little distant." Ash didn't even attempt to disguise the concern in his voice.  
  
"Yeah. I'm okay. I was just thinking about something. What about you?" Misty cleverly tried to change the subject off of herself. She was very relieved when her efforts worked.  
  
"I'm still a little tired. I guess I didn't get very much sleep last night. Other than that, I'm fine." Ash said with a small yawn.  
  
Misty just smiled and hugged her boyfriend to her and kissed Ash on the head. "I have an idea. Why don't you try to take a nap? I'll wake you right before we get to the port. Besides, you'll feel a little better if you get some sleep. I really want you to be able to watch the ship set sail with us."  
  
"That sounds like a good idea to me. I love you, Misty. I am so lucky to have you." Ash whispered as he laid his head on Misty's shoulder and closed his eyes. Within a few seconds, he had drifted off to sleep.  
  
"I love you too, Ash. I just wish I didn't have to hide this from you." Misty thought as she hugged Ash closer to her and felt Pikachu climb up into her lap.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Brock glanced in the mirror and saw that Ash was sleeping in Misty's arms and she was off in her own world again. He just shook his head sadly.  
  
"I wish that she could find a way to talk to him about it." Brock said to himself, not knowing he had said it out loud.  
  
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tracey said, jolting Brock out of his thoughts.  
  
"What?" Brock was very distant now.  
  
"You said that there was something Misty couldn't talk to Ash about. I have never known her to keep anything inside." Tracey was now beginning to get worried.  
  
"Yeah. I'll tell you if you promise to keep it between us unless Misty says something to you."  
  
"My lips are sealed. I promise." Tracey smiled a little.  
  
"Okay. On the plane, Misty told me about her sisters almost keeping her from coming with us." Brock was silent for a moment, remembering the turmoil in Misty's eyes as she told her story. "But that's not the worst of it. She said that she had a dream of some kind and was afraid that she was going to lose us forever. She was really emotional about it and I could tell that it terrified her. I tried to convince her to tell Ash and Pikachu said the same thing later, but she's afraid that Ash is going to be upset."  
  
"I can see what would make her think that. You know how protective Ash is of Misty. He might want to go after her sisters for causing her that kind of pain." Tracey's voice had a tinge of anger. "How could her sisters do that to her." He glanced back at his friends for a moment.  
  
"They love each other so much. Misty really should let Ash help her through this. I know it can't be easy for her." Tracey thought as he turned to stare distantly out the window.  
  
Behind them, Misty was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice Tracey turned around looking at her. Ash was unaware of any of this as he slept in Misty's arms. 


	9. The SS Anne Sets Sail

Chapter 9: The S.S. Anne Sets Sail  
  
Time seem to go by quickly as the car traveled down the road to meet the S.S. Anne. It seemed like no time at all until Brock pulled the car into the dock parking lot and stopped.  
  
When Misty felt the car come to a stop, she instantly snapped back into the real world. "What's going on, Brock?" she asked.  
  
"We're here at the dock, Misty. You should wake Ash so we can get checked through and board. I don't think he wants to stay in the car for seven days." Brock grinned.  
  
Misty glanced at Ash, who was still asleep with his head resting on her shoulder, and smiled. "Hey. Wake up, Ash. We're here." she whispered in Ash's ear. Ash opened his eyes and smiled at Misty, giving her a passionate kiss that left her breathless and made Brock and Tracey blush and look away.  
  
"What was that for?" Misty laughed as she caught her breath. Ash had caught her totally off guard.  
  
"Well, am I not allowed to kiss the woman that I love? I kissed you because I love you more than anything else in this world and I want you to know that every day." Ash said, pretending to be hurt.  
  
"Of course you are, my love. I will never doubt that you love me. I was just not expecting that." Misty smiled as she wrapped her arms around Ash.  
  
"Okay, you lovebirds. You can make out after we check in and get on the ship which we may miss if we don't get moving." Tracey said, a faint hint of exasperation in his voice. Brock just rolled his eyes and laughed.  
  
At this point, Misty, Ash, Brock, Tracey and Pikachu gathered their things and walked across the parking lot and into the building where they would show their tickets and get their clearance before boarding the S.S. Anne. Tracey had earlier put Marill back in her Pokeball so she could take a nap.  
  
Once they got inside, the line was very long at the registration desk and Misty was getting very antsy to get on the ship and see it. Ash noticed her excitement and anticipation and wrapped his arms around her and gave her a great bear hug.  
  
"Calm down, Mist. I know that you're as excited as I am but, no offense, you look like you have a colony of ants in your shorts." Ash said lovingly to his girlfriend.  
  
"I know. It is hard to calm down when I am so excited. I have been looking forward to this for such a long time. Hey, we're next!" Misty exclaimed as she noticed that they were almost ready to board the S.S. Anne. Brock and Tracey just look at each other and sighed.  
  
As they walked up the ramp to the S.S. Anne, a photographer was standing there and took a picture of them. Brock and Tracey gave each other bunny ears and stuck their tongues out while Ash and Misty wrapped their arms around each other and Pikachu stood on Ash's head and made his favorite victory pose. Then they walked up the gangplank and onto the ship. When they got inside, the four friends all gasped.  
  
"Wow!" they all said at once. The ship was more exquisite than it had been the first time around. The group just stood there in awe for a long time.  
  
"So, what should we do first?" Ash broke the silence after several minutes.  
  
"I think we should go and look at our room. Then we can go exploring and maybe look for some food." Misty said and got a unanimous agreement for her suggestion.  
  
When Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey reached the room that they were going to be sharing, the awestruck feeling started all over again. They were staying in a very nice, comfortable looking room that had four bunks in it.  
  
"This looks like a great place to stay for the next seven days." Misty smiled.  
  
"Yeah. I could get used to a comfortable room like this." Ash agreed.  
  
"I get call on the top bunk!" Brock yelled.  
  
"No way, man. It's mine!" Tracey screamed back.  
  
Ash and Misty just stood there and laughed as they watched their two friends fight and argue over sleeping arrangements and it took them both back to their younger days when they used to fight about stupid things.  
  
"Hey, Mist. Do you remember all of the times when Brock or Tracey were always trying to split up our stupid arguments?" Ash laughed.  
  
"Yep. I sure do. Now it looks like the roles are reversed big time."  
  
"Hey, Pikachu." Ash regarded the small electric Pokemon on his shoulder.  
  
"Pi, Pikapi?" (What, Ash?) Pikachu asked eagerly.  
  
"Would you like to do what you have been wanting to ever since we were on the plane?" Ash smiled and carefully lifted Pikachu onto the floor.  
  
"Pika!" (Yeah!)  
  
"Well then let it rip, little buddy." Ash laughed as Pikachu screamed and let fly with a strong charge of electricity that sent Tracey and Brock sprawling to the floor, sputtering. Then suddenly they both began laughing and leaned on each other for support as they slowly got to their feet.  
  
"What, may I ask, is so funny?" Misty asked, knowing the answer all too well.  
  
"It just reminded me of when you two used to argue so much and I used to have to use Pikachu to make you knock it off." Brock said as soon as he recovered enough to speak.  
  
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Tracey laughed as he patted Pikachu on the head. "Say Brock, I have an idea."  
  
"What's on your mind, Trace." Brock asked.  
  
"Instead of fighting, why don't we each take one of the top bunks." Tracey paused for a moment to glance at the couple standing in the doorway holding hands and smiling. "Something tells me Ash and Misty won't really care." Tracey smiled and nudged Brock in the arm.  
  
"Good idea. I'm sorry about arguing with you, man."  
  
"Don't worry about it. All is forgiven as far as I'm concerned." Tracey said as he took Brock's outstretched hand and shook it.  
  
"Well now that you guys have made up do you think that we can go and get some food. I'm starving." Ash said as Pikachu excitedly jumped up and down on his head at the mention of the word food.  
  
As soon as everyone was ready, they walked up on deck in search of something to eat. It didn't take them very long to find a pizza joint on one of the main decks and they were soon sitting at a table overlooking the sea and chomping down pizza and enjoying the view. After they finished eating, the friends took a walk and started exploring what the ship had.  
  
While they were walking around an announcement came over the ship's PA system and said that there was an activity meeting in the lounge in ten minutes. It seemed like a good idea to figure out what exactly they wanted to do in port the next day and also to kill time until the ship was supposed to set sail.  
  
The meeting was very informative and gave them several ideas of what they could do in port. There were shops and markets and there was also a beautiful white beach that had parasailing and banana boat rides. After the meeting was over all of the passengers had to attend a lifeboat drill before the ship took to the water at noon.  
  
After going back to their room to get their life jackets, Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey hurried to their lifeboat station and sat there until they were told that it was okay to leave. They quickly realized how stupid they looked in the life jackets and made a big joke out of it.  
  
"Hey, guys. Get together over here so I can make a quick sketch of you and that way we can always remember how utterly ridiculous this looks." Tracey laughed.  
  
Ash, Misty and Brock stood close together and made the peace sign while Pikachu stood on his head between them. Tracey pulled out his sketch pad and his pencil and made a sketch of the three right behind the page of the one he had secretly done on the plane. A little while later the all clear was given and the four young adventurers put their life jackets away and went up to the top decks to watch the ship set sail. It was the most exciting thing that any of them had ever seen.  
  
When the ship was in the open ocean, the friends stood admiring the view for a few minutes and then went back inside and began to walk around again. Time seemed to fly by while they were exploring and before any of them knew it, it was time to go to the dining room for dinner. After enjoying a nice dinner and seeing a wonderful show in the lounge, they decided to go to the disco and party there for a while.  
  
The disco was very crowded and a fun place to celebrate the launching of the ship. Ash and Misty danced together all night while Tracey drew numerous sketches of them. Brock, as always, ran around chasing after girls and making a total fool of himself. They were all having a great time but all good things must come to an end and soon it was after midnight and the disco closed for the night. So Ash, Misty, Brock, and Tracey left the now quiet disco and went back to their room to settle in for the night.  
  
Once they were back in their room and had changed clothes, the four tired young friends looked forward to settling down after all of the day's excitement and getting some rest for the next day. So after turning on the television they got ready for bed. Brock and Tracey each climbed up and flopped onto one of the upper bunks while Ash stretched out on the bed underneath Brock's and Misty sank down next to him as Pikachu curled up at the foot of the bed. Ash pulled Misty into his arms and gave her a long kiss.  
  
"Hmm. Something is weird here." Misty said quietly.  
  
"Since when is my kissing you categorized as something weird?" Ash asked, sounding slightly hurt.  
  
"I didn't mean that. I love it when you kiss me. But I don't hear something that normally follows." Misty paused for a moment. "Listen."  
  
Ash listened with Misty for a moment and then began quietly laughing. "I realize what you mean now, Mist. It is weird at that." He whispered as he leaned over Misty and off of the bed to look around the room and noticed that the only sounds in the room were the voices on the television. The long, eventful, exhausting day had taken its toll on Brock and Tracey and now they were both peacefully quiet, having taken a one way ticket to dreamland.  
  
"I guess they really tired themselves out goofing off back at the disco earlier. Oh well, at least we won't have to listen to them make stupid comments about us kissing." Misty whispered as Ash nodded his agreement and smiled. After watching television for about thirty more minutes, Ash began to feel sleepy and, as his eyes started to get heavy, he decided that maybe he and Misty should get some sleep.  
  
"You finished watching this, hon?" Ash asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. How about you?"  
  
"I was through watching it a few minutes ago when I started falling asleep." Ash yawned as he picked up the remote control and clicked off the television.  
  
"Goodnight, Ash." Misty whispered as she gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek and moment later fell asleep.  
  
"Night, Mist. See you in the morning, I love you." Ash replied. He then wrapped his arms around Misty, closed his eyes and slipped into a restful sleep with his true love by his side and his loyal Pikachu at his feet. 


	10. Misty's Confession

Chapter 10: Misty's Confession  
  
Misty's peace didn't last for very long as she soon became trapped in the dream that had caused her so much pain and fear. A dream that she held inside and kept secret from the man that she loved. This dream was always the same and equally as upsetting every time it surfaced.  
  
The timing was about two months before she moved to Pallet to live with Ash. Misty was sitting in her room in the Cerulean City Gym watching television. She was filled with an overwhelming sense of sadness because she was supposed to be on vacation with Ash, Brock and Tracey but she was trapped here in this detestable prison because of the hatred of her three sisters. Suddenly, a news flash came on the screen and caught Misty's attention. When she saw the bulletin, it ripped her heart out. The plane that was bound for the Seafoam Islands carrying the three people in the world who meant the most to her hadn't made it to its destination. Instead it had been plagued with engine trouble and had nose-dived into the ground not far from the airport and no one on board had survived. As Misty watched the terrible simulation of what had happened, she felt a strong feeling of hate for her sisters for keeping her away and a sickening feeling of guilt that she hadn't fought hard enough and her boyfriend and her two best friends had been on that ill fated plane when it had crashed. She held her pillow to her and screamed as the knowledge sunk in that the people that she loved and considered her family were now gone and would never be coming back. That they were lost to her forever.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Misty woke up with a sense of fear that she had every single time. She just lay there for a second and remembered where she actually was when she heard Ash's deep breathing coming from the pillow next to hers and felt his arms around her. Misty took Ash's hand and kissed it softly and felt again that overwhelming sense of relief as she also heard Brock mumbling in his sleep and Tracey snoring quietly and she knew that she hadn't lost her entire world and that everything was still okay.  
  
After lying in bed for a few minutes watching Ash sleeping soundly next to her and occasionally stroking his hair to make sure that he was actually there, Misty realized that she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep tonight. So after looking at her watch and noticing that it was 5 a.m., Misty decided to go up to the top deck and let the sea air clear her mind.  
  
Misty gently maneuvered out of Ash's arms, being very careful not to awaken him, and put her feet on the floor. She quietly got up and picked a room key off of the table and tiptoed over to the door. She had to be very quiet because Brock and Tracey were also still sleeping and she wanted to keep from disturbing them as well. Misty snuck out of the room and into the hallway, quietly closing the door behind her. Then she made her way to the elevator and went up to the very top. As she made her way outside the sun was just beginning to rise over the ocean.  
  
"This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Luckily I'm here to see it." Misty said to herself. Then she sat down on one of the chairs and slid it close to the rail so that she could see down to the water. Once again she felt that sense of intense relief flood into her soul once again and Misty let the suppressed tears flow from her eyes, crying openly as she looked out at the beautiful sunrise.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
An hour later, Ash opened his eyes as he slowly began to wake. It took him a moment to get reoriented and when he did, he was alarmed to find that Misty was no longer beside him. Ash's fear increased when he noticed that not only was Misty not beside him but she was nowhere in the room.  
  
"Where could she possibly have gone. I wonder why she didn't wake me and tell me that she was going somewhere. I hope nothing's wrong." Ash thought and then he got an idea. He reached down to the foot of the bed and woke his Pokemon.  
  
"Hey, Pikachu. Sorry for waking you up but I need your help. Misty isn't here and she was gone when I woke up. Do you have any idea where she is?" Ash whispered trying not to wake his friends who were still asleep.  
  
"Pi pikachu, Pikapi. Pi chu pi pika pikachu. Pi pika pikachu ka chu pika pi chu ka pika ka chu pikachu." (It's okay, Ash. I don't know where Misty is. Since she is a water Pokemon trainer maybe she went up to look at the ocean.) Pikachu said as he crawled over to sit on his trainer's lap.  
  
A light went on in Ash's head and he hugged his Pokemon tightly. "You're a genius, Pikachu. Why didn't I think of that? I'm going up to look for her. Wanna come with me?" Ash said happily.  
  
"Pika pikachu, Pikapi. Pi pikachu pika ka chu pikachu pi." (That's okay, Ash. I'd only be in the way and plus I want to go back to sleep.) Pikachu yawned as it gave Ash a thumbs up and curled up on the pillow and went back to sleep. Ash then quietly dashed from the room and to the elevator.  
  
When Ash reached the top deck he dashed from the elevator and out the doors. When he saw Misty sitting there he stopped so abruptly that he fell backwards. Misty was startled when she heard the crash and when she turned around and saw Ash, she hurriedly wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled.  
  
"Hey, you. Are you okay?" Misty asked as Ash picked himself up off of the ground.  
  
"Yeah. Even though I should be asking you the same thing. I was very worried about you when I got up and found you gone. Pikachu helped me figure out that I might find you up here. You should have woke me up and I would have come with you." Ash whispered to her with concern in his voice.  
  
"I'm sorry I worried you, but you were sleeping so soundly that I couldn't bring myself to disturb you. Besides, I needed to be alone for a little while." Misty said with tears in her eyes as Ash pulled her around to face him.  
  
"You're crying. Mist, what's the matter? Something has you very upset and I wish that you would tell me what it is. I love you and I want to help you if you'll only let me."  
  
Misty couldn't hold her composure anymore so she put her head in her hands and started to cry again. "Oh, Ash. I do need to tell you something. I left because I had a terrifying nightmare that has been bothering me since before you and I started living together. I didn't tell you before because I was afraid of what you would think. My sisters almost stopped me from coming with you guys and I while I was trying to outsmart them I started having this dream that you went without me and the plane crashed and the people I consider as my family were taken from me forever as I watched the whole thing on television and felt guilty for losing you." She had barely finished before she completely broke down.  
  
Ash was shocked as he pulled Misty into his arms and held her close to try to comfort her. It broke his heart to see his true love so upset and he wondered why she would go through this alone and not let him help her. "Shh. It's okay, baby. I'm not going anywhere for a long time. The one thing that I don't understand is why you didn't let me help you through this. It wasn't fair to you to have to go through this alone."  
  
"I was scared." Misty said simply as she hugged her boyfriend tighter and continued to sob in Ash's arms.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Meanwhile, back in the room Brock and Tracey were just waking up. Tracey was the first to wake and panicked when he looked around the room and noticed that the only sign of Ash or Misty was Pikachu sleeping on the pillow.  
  
"Hey!" Tracey shouted, waking Brock and causing Pikachu to fall off of the bed.  
  
"What is wrong with you, Tracey. If you haven't noticed I'm trying to sleep over here." Brock yelled.  
  
"Ash and Misty are gone!" Tracey's shouted answer jolted Brock awake totally.  
  
"WHAT! How did we not know they left?" he jumped off of the bed, nearly landing on top of Pikachu.  
  
"Pika! Pi pikachu Pikapi ka pika pikachu chu Pikachupi pika pi chu kachu. Pikachu pika pi chu ka pi pikachu chu." (Hold it! This morning Ash woke up and noticed Misty was gone so he went after her. I think they're up on deck so we can go look for them.) Pikachu told them calmly.  
  
Brock and Tracey were dressed in seconds and soon followed Pikachu up to the deck in search of their missing friends. When they saw Ash and Misty they all stopped on a dime. Ash was sitting beside Misty holding her close as she cried in his arms.  
  
"I guess she finally told him the truth. Hey, Trace why don't we see if we can help." Brock said quietly.  
  
"Pika. Pi pika pikachu. Pikapi pika chu ka pi pikachu." (No. Let me go first. Ash asked me to come earlier but I decided not to.) Pikachu said as he ran over to his trainer.  
  
"Pi pikachu. Pi Pikachupi pika, Pikapi?" (There you are. Is Misty okay, Ash?) he asked cautiously.  
  
Misty looked up and smiled at the little yellow Pokemon. "Yeah, I'm okay Pikachu. I just had to make a confession to Ash. I feel better now." she said as she winked at Pikachu and patted him on the head.  
  
"Why did you come all the way up here by yourself?" Ash asked.  
  
"He didn't Ash. We came up here with him. We're just glad that you guys are all right." Tracey said as he came out of the shadows towards them, followed closely by Brock.  
  
"Sorry we worried you, guys. I just had a bad nightmare and woke up at about five and wanted to be alone and then Ash was worried when he got up and I wasn't there so he came up here looking for me." Misty said before deciding to change the subject. "Hey, is anyone else hungry? It's time that we can go to the dining room for breakfast and the ship is going to arrive at the first port soon. Maybe we should get something to eat."  
  
"Yeah! I'm starved. Let's go!" Ash smiled, taking Misty by the hand and leading her away as Brock and Tracey followed close behind with Pikachu.  
  
After having breakfast, the companions went back down to their room to get ready to disembark at the first island as the ship slowly and quietly made its way into the first port and the first day of adventure. 


	11. The Island of Mischief

Chapter 11: The Island of Mischief  
  
As they finished getting ready to disembark at the first port, Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey were trying to plan their day and what they were going to do.  
  
"So what are we going to do first?" Ash asked.  
  
"It makes no difference to me. Anybody have any ideas." Brock said matter of factly.  
  
"Since there is so much to do why don't we try to divide it. This morning we can go and do a little souvenir shopping for a couple of hours and then we'll bring any of our packages back here to the room and we can change into our swimsuits and catch a van to the beach." Tracey suggested.  
  
"Yeah. That's a good idea. Let's get going!" Misty smiled.  
  
"It's unanimous then. Once we get to the beach we can play it by ear from there." Ash laughed as they went down to the gangplank to disembark the ship.  
  
Once they got to the gangplank, the group was told to show their ship ID cards before they were allowed off of the ship. This request was very easily accommodated and they were soon walking down the ramp to the shore. Halfway down they were stopped for another photo opportunity which they gratefully accepted. When they got off of the ship, the first thing that Misty wanted to do was get some tropical braids put in her hair. Ash's jaw dropped to the ground when he saw her new look and he thought to himself that it made her even more beautiful than she already was, which he had thought was impossible until now.  
  
"Wow! You look awesome, Misty. I never thought that it was possible for you to look more beautiful than you already do but I guess I was wrong." Ash smiled at Misty as she came running into his arms and gave him a big hug.  
  
"I was hoping you'd think so. I think that they look really cool and give me a tropical look."  
  
"Hey, are we going to do some souvenir shopping or just stand around here watching you two flirt all day?" Brock said after a moment.  
  
"Yeah." Tracey agreed.  
  
"Okay, let's go." Ash said. Then Ash took Misty by the hand and set off into the marketplace while Brock and Tracey followed not far behind them, rolling their eyes and snickering.  
  
While they were walking around the marketplace buying all kinds of neat souvenirs and amusing themselves haggling with the shop owners, Ash and Misty happened across a stand that sold crafted jewelry. As they were standing there admiring everything Ash smiled to himself when he thought of the engagement ring that he had hidden in his bag back on the ship that he was planning on giving to Misty at the formal dinner the next night on the ship. He was really looking forward to seeing the look on Misty's face when he caught her by surprise.  
  
"Ash? Hey, Ash. What are you thinking about?" Misty asked, startling Ash from his daydream.  
  
"What? Oh, sorry Mist. I was actually thinking about how much I love you." Ash covered as he kissed her. "Hey, you see anything here that you really like?"  
  
"Yeah. I think this silver and turquoise Horsea necklace is beautiful. I haven't seen anything like it before." Misty answered, slightly suspicious of what Ash was up to.  
  
"Then it's yours, my love." Ash grinned as he purchased the necklace from the vendor and fastened it around Misty's neck, watching her eyes light up as bright as the sun that glistened off of the stones in the charm.  
  
"Oh, thank you Ash. This is absolutely beautiful. I love you so much." Misty threw her arms around Ash's neck.  
  
"I love you too, Mist. I knew that would look absolutely breathtaking on you and I was right about this one."  
  
A few minutes later Brock and Tracey came back to rejoin them and stopped when they saw the couple hugging.  
  
"I wonder what's going on with those two." Brock whispered.  
  
"I don't know. Let's go see." Tracey said as he walked up to Ash and Misty. "Hey lovebirds. Are you guys just about ready? We might want to start heading back toward the ship because the next van for the beach leaves in 45 minutes."  
  
"Oh yeah. We should go and get ready for the beach. I hope that Pikachu isn't too angry at me for leaving him on the ship this morning but he had gone back to sleep and he never really liked shopping anyway." Ash smiled.  
  
The group then headed back to the ship to gather their things that they would take to the beach. After getting through security they went to their room and as soon as they opened the door, Pikachu jumped off of the bed and ran to greet them.  
  
"Pika pikachu, Pikapi." (Welcome back, Ash.) Pikachu said happily as he jumped into his trainer's arms.  
  
"Hey, Pika pal. Sorry about leaving you on the ship this morning." Ash patted Pikachu on the head.  
  
"Pi pikachu. Pika chu ka pika pichu pi pika chupi ka pika pikachu." (That's okay. Just as long as you take me to the beach I'll consider it an even deal.)  
  
"Sounds like a plan. As soon as we get everything together then we'll go."  
  
Soon the group all had their things together and had disembarked again. Then they loaded onto a van with a few other people and were soon on the beach. After putting their blankets down and staking their claim Ash and Misty decided that they wanted to go parasailing together, Tracey decided to sit on the shore and do a sketch of them and Brock, as usual, ran off chasing after every girl that he saw.  
  
A few minutes later, Ash and Misty were fastened to the parachute and were soaring 400 feet above the ocean together. The view of the water from that height was absolutely breathtaking.  
  
"Wow. I can't believe how great the view is from up here. It's beautiful." Ash whispered to Misty.  
  
"Yeah. You can see all the way down to the bottom of the ocean. Hey, look. There's Tracey!" Misty said.  
  
"I can't wait to see how the sketch turns out that he is doing of us." Then the airborne couple waved at Tracey who stopped his drawing for a moment to wave back at them.  
  
All good things do eventually come to an end and soon the parachute slowly began to lower as they were gently brought back down to the boat and unstrapped. When the boat got the two back to the shore, Tracey ran up to meet them as they jumped out of the boat.  
  
"Hey, guys. You looked totally awesome up there. I think you'll like the sketch that I made. I drew you guys when you were gazing down at the ocean together. Right before you started waving at me. Kind of a romantic piece if you ask me. Here, take a look." Tracey said as he opened the sketchpad so that Ash and Misty could see his drawing. It was obvious that they approved of it.  
  
"This is great, Tracey. You got a great angle on this one." Misty gasped.  
  
"Yeah. Thanks a lot, Trace." Ash clapped Tracey on the back with a smile as they went back to where their stuff was to find Brock sitting on a towel with a soda in his hand.  
  
"What happened, Brocko. Did you get tired of chasing the girls?" Ash smirked as he saw his friend.  
  
"Yeah. All of the girls that I tried to talk to either ran away or threw sand in my face. I really don't know why I try." Brock sighed as he fell back onto the towel.  
  
"It'll be okay, Brock. There are lots of girls out there and you'll find the right one someday. Just keep looking." Misty smiled, putting a hand on Brock's shoulder.  
  
"She's right, Brock. You just need to keep your mind off of it for a while. Hey, I have an idea! I remember at the activity meeting yesterday they said that they have banana boat rides here. I think that would be fun. There goes one now. What do you guys think?" Tracey said as he pointed to the banana boat that went bouncing across the water in the distance.  
  
"Thanks for the support, guys. A banana boat ride does sound like a blast. Okay, let's go! Wahoo!" Brock said with great enthusiasm.  
  
"Cool. Let's take a wild banana boat ride." Ash laughed and then turned to Pikachu who was sitting there watching them. "Hey, Pikachu. Since water doesn't mix well with electric Pokemon, would you mind watching our stuff while we go on the banana boats?"  
  
"Pika. Pi pikachu pi chupi ka pika pi chu." (Okay. But what am I going to do on shore by myself.) Pikachu said hesitantly.  
  
"What if I made it to where you could have some company and wouldn't have to be by yourself?" Tracey asked as he removed a Pokeball from his bag. "Go, Marill. Why don't you keep Pikachu company."  
  
"Marill mar." (Hi everybody.) Marill said.  
  
"Pika pika. Pi ka pi pika pikachu." (Hi Marill. Let's build a cool sandcastle.) Pikachu suggested.  
  
"Marill!" (Okay!) The two Pokemon then began to build a sandcastle as their trainers dashed off for the banana boat rides.  
  
After paying for the ride, Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey climbed onto a banana boat and prepared to be rocketed through the water by a speedboat. At first, everything was great and they were all having a great time bouncing through the water and over the waves at high speeds. Then all of the sudden there was a wipeout. The banana boat flew over a wave and took to the air with a violent jolt, causing Ash to lose his grip on the handle and go tumbling into the water.  
  
"Ash! Are you okay?" Misty screamed in horror as Ash quickly surfaced and swam back to the banana boat where Brock and Tracey helped him get back on safely. Then they took off again for a few more minutes before the banana boat pulled back to its starting point and let the group off safely onto the shore.  
  
When they got back to where their things were sitting they noticed that Pikachu and Marill had built a very nice sandcastle and were now playing tag and chasing each other around it. The group walked over to their towels and sat down for a moment.  
  
"Hey, Ash. Brock and I are going to go bodysurfing since these waves are perfect for it. You guys want to come with us. We can have a contest to see who can go the farthest on one wave." Tracey asked.  
  
"Yeah sure. Sounds like fun. Then after that we need to head back to the ship. We can get some dinner and then just relax for a while. Let's get bodysurfing. Come on, Mist." Ash grinned as he turned and took off toward the ocean followed closely by the others.  
  
Once they were out in the ocean the bodysurfing contest began. Brock caught a wave almost immediately but he didn't get that far. Ash and Tracey were next to catch a wave and it carried them about halfway to shore. They then turned around to watch Misty as Brock swam over to join them. Misty was the last one to catch a wave but it turned out to be the winning wave. She caught the wave at just the right angle so that she was able to be pulled on top of it and she rode that same wave all the way back to the beach. After she got to her feet on the shore, Misty just stood there laughing as Ash, Brock and Tracey waded in from the ocean and came to stand with her. Then they congratulated Misty as they gathered their things and caught the van to take them back to the ship.  
  
Back on the ship, the four friends got out of their bathing suits and put on dry clothes so that they could go to dinner. Misty also put back on the Horsea necklace that Ash had bought her that morning since she had taken it off before they left for the beach to prevent it from getting lost in the ocean. Then they went to the dining room and had a very nice, big dinner that left them feeling like they might explode. After dinner, the group tried to decide what they should do next.  
  
"I think that it might be a good idea to get into our suits again and come up and sit in the hot tub for a little while to help us relax and wind down after running around all day." Ash said and got a unanimous agreement. So they went back down to their room and changed back into their bathing suits and relaxed for a while in the hot tub on deck.  
  
"Ahhh. Now this is very relaxing. Feels good to wind down like this." Ash said as he leaned his head against the headrest and closed his eyes.  
  
"Yeah. I don't know about you guys but I had a great time today. It was awesome riding the banana boat and bodysurfing. It was kinda funny watching Ash do a cartwheel off the banana boat and into the ocean. Just glad that you didn't get hurt." Tracey smiled at Ash who rolled his eyes at him.  
  
"It was fun. Tomorrow we are going to have a whole day to find out all of the things this ship has to do. We've got a day at sea tomorrow while we're on our way to the next island." Brock said.  
  
"Uh huh. I'm looking forward to working on my tan and lounging around the pool. It'll be nice." Misty said as she put her arm around Ash and kissed him. Then she looked at her watch and noticed how late it was. "It's already 11:00. I didn't realize that it was that late."  
  
"Yeah. We might want to head back down to the room. I know one thing for sure. If I stay here much longer I'm going to end up falling asleep right where I am." Ash yawned as he leaned his head on Misty's shoulder.  
  
"Ash's right. I'm feeling pretty tired as well. I think we'll all get a good night's sleep tonight. Let's head back down so we can all crash for the night." Tracey said wearily. Then the group left the hot tub and went back down to their room.  
  
As soon as they got back to the room and were ready to go to bed, the friends sat around on their beds talking about everything that had happened that day. Obviously this conversation didn't last very long.  
  
"Ash?" Misty whispered.  
  
"Hmm?" Ash replied sleepily.  
  
"I just wanted to thank you for being there for me this morning. It means a lot to me that you weren't angry at me for keeping that a secret from you but it wasn't easy for me to deal with and since you had so much other stuff on your plate, I just didn't feel right getting you involved." Misty's voice trembled as she spoke.  
  
Ash turned over to face Misty in the dim glow of the one light that had been left on for safety reasons. "Mist, I want you to listen very well to me. I will always be there for you no matter what. I don't ever want you to worry about burdening me. I could have the craziest, most exhausting schedule in the world and I will always make time for you. You are my whole world and I love you with everything that I am. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for you. I understand that you were afraid and I would never get angry about it. I just wish that you'd have told me so that I could have helped you through it." Ash hugged Misty to him and held her close.  
  
"I love you too Ash. I know you're worn out so why don't we get some sleep." Misty whispered as she started humming a tune and stroking Ash's hair.  
  
"Night, Mist. Sleep well." Ash rested his head beside Misty's and as she continued began to hum her soft lullaby, Ash closed his eyes and faded off to sleep.  
  
"Sweet dreams, my love." Misty whispered as she gave Ash a soft kiss and then joined her boyfriend in dreams.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"Huh." Brock chuckled.  
  
"What's the matter?" Tracey asked tiredly as he looked over and saw Brock hanging off of the bed. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Look at this. They are so much in love and in my opinion they are the two luckiest people in the world." Brock whispered, being careful not to disturb the couple sleeping in the bunk below him.  
  
"Yeah. I'll bet that they both sleep like rocks tonight after all that they have been through today. There is something that we could do for them, you know." Tracey smiled.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Well, tomorrow since we're going to be at sea all day instead of going up to the dining room for breakfast I was thinking that we could order room service and have a late breakfast so that way we can let them sleep in the morning." Tracey suggested.  
  
"Sounds like a good idea. It'll be good for all of us to do that." Brock whispered.  
  
"Yeah. That's what we'll do, then. Right now, though, I'm going to get some sleep. Goodnight, Brock. See you in the morning." Tracey yawned and then rolled over and fell asleep.  
  
"I'm glad that Misty told Ash what was bothering her. It was eating away at her and it was good for her to get it off of her chest." Brock thought as he closed his eyes and sank into a sea of dreams. 


	12. Dreaming of Love

Chapter 12: Dreaming of Love  
  
Ash was standing with Brock and Tracey in the hallway outside of their room. Pikachu was sitting on Ash's shoulder trying to keep from falling off as Ash fidgeted around. There was a secret reason that Ash was so nervous. Brock and Tracey didn't have any idea what Ash was planning and, in fact, the plan was so secret that Ash's loyal Pikachu didn't even have a clue. Misty was in their room changing for the formal dinner and they were waiting on her. The guys had already changed into their tuxedos and were all ready. Ash was pacing the floor nervously even though a far off, distant point of his mind told him that he didn't need to be so nervous because he wasn't actually here yet. In all reality he was sound asleep in bed with Misty in his arms, and this was all a dream of what he imagined it would be like the next night. But this didn't calm the anxiety that Ash was dreaming.  
  
Moments later, Misty came walking out of the room looking like an absolute vision and Brock and Tracey had to try to help Ash put his eyes back in his head as he stood there drooling and acting like Brock whenever he saw a pretty girl. Misty just giggled as she saw Ash's reaction to her formal dress. Little did she know that before the night was out, depending on how she responded to Ash's surprise, her life would be changed forever.  
  
Before they headed to the dining room for dinner, Ash excused himself for a moment, saying that he had forgotten something in the room. Once inside, he locked the door and after rummaging around in his suitcase for a moment Ash found what he was looking for. It was a small box containing an elegant diamond ring. A ring that he planned to give to Misty later on that evening when he asked her a very special question. After placing the box in the inside pocket of his tuxedo jacket, he walked back out into the hallway and joined his friends.  
  
When they entered the dining room and walked to their table, Ash felt very lucky to have the most beautiful woman on the ship on his arm. Then he found himself hoping feverently that Misty would like the surprise he had for her as he carefully patted his pocket. At the table, Ash pulled the chair out for Misty and helped her to sit as Brock and Tracey looked on smiling and Pikachu snickered a little bit.  
  
After having a very nice dinner together Ash tried to determine the perfect time to spring his surprise on Misty. He was extremely nervous because how this one night went would affect both him and Misty for the rest of their lives. Ash hoped that everything went as well as he had planned it. Finally it was time and Ash took a deep breath and turned to the woman that he loved and took her hand.  
  
"Misty?"  
  
"Yeah, Ash." Misty was curious about Ash's abrupt change in behavior tonight.  
  
"There is something that I would like to ask you." Ash said as he got out of his chair and dropped to one knee before Misty, who gasped and looked at Ash in shock, pulling the box from his pocket in the process. Brock and Tracey finally realized what was going on and sat there wide-eyed with their mouths gaping open.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Unfortunately for Ash, he wouldn't know Misty's answer until the next night when he got to the real thing. This was because just as his dream got to that point a deeper sleep overcame him and the dream ended as his mind became engulfed in a black nothingness. 


	13. Ash's Proposal and Misty's Answer

Chapter 13: Ash's Proposal and Misty's Answer  
  
The next morning, Ash awoke from his slumber feeling more rested than he had felt in a while. Ash quietly stretched and took the remote control and turned the television on low enough that only he could hear it because the others were still lost in dreams and he wanted to make sure that he didn't wake them. Ash became so wrapped up in the television show that he was watching that he didn't even hear Brock beginning to wake until he saw Brock's head drop down from the bunk above and it scared him badly enough to cause him to jump.  
  
"Morning, Brocko. I didn't wake you up when I turned the television on did I?" Ash smiled at his friend once he had regained his composure.  
  
"Nah. The television didn't wake me. Sorry if I scared you sticking my head down when I heard you, Ash. Personally if I were on the bottom bunk and saw someone's head appear out of nowhere I would be a little freaked out too. You been up long?" Brock said bringing his voice down to the quietest audible whisper when he noticed that he and Ash were the only ones awake.  
  
"About thirty minutes. You wouldn't have normally scared me if I hadn't been so wrapped up in the television. So are we going to head up for breakfast?"  
  
"Nope." Brock smiled and shook his head. "Tracey and I were talking about it last night after you two fell asleep and we thought that since we have a whole day at sea today to do whatever that we could call in room service for breakfast so that we could sleep in a little."  
  
"That sounds great to me. Hey, Brock. Isn't tonight the formal dinner in the dining room that we were going to?" Ash asked.  
  
"Yeah. It sure is."  
  
"Great!" Ash's enthusiasm about something formal took Brock by surprise.  
  
"Ash, are you feeling okay? Why are you so jazzed about a formal dinner? You have hardly taken that hat off a day since I've known you." Brock asked as he climbed down off of the bed.  
  
"I'm fine. I have my reasons why I am excited about it but I can't tell you right now." Ash smiled.  
  
"And I suppose that you have your reasons why you can't tell me and reasons why you can't tell me those reasons as well, right." Brock rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yep. How'd you ever guess?" Ash laughed as Brock began laughing along with him.  
  
A few minutes later Ash felt something move beside him and he turned to Misty and gave her a little kiss.  
  
"Good morning, beautiful angel." Ash smiled as he looked into Misty's blue eyes.  
  
Brock just chuckled and put his head in his hands to give the couple privacy as another voice broke the silence.  
  
"Oh brother." Tracey yawned sleepily as Ash chucked a pillow at him and hit him square in the face.  
  
"HEY!"  
  
"Well, maybe next time it'll teach you to make sarcastic comments like that to Ash." Misty laughed and Tracey smiled.  
  
"Morning, Trace. Sorry I had to do that." Ash said.  
  
"Good morning, Ash. It's really no big deal. I probably deserved it. I'm just grateful that you just threw a pillow in my face rather than doing something more drastic like having Pikachu electrocute me again." Tracey grinned, sticking his tongue out at Ash.  
  
"Pi pika pi chu, Pipichupipika. Pi pikachu." (Do you want me to, Tracey? I'm ready.) Pikachu had woke up a few minutes before and now stood looking at Tracey with mild sparks on his cheeks.  
  
"Pikachu. That's enough of that buddy." Ash said as he lifted his Pokemon into his lap.  
  
"Pika, Pikapi." (Sorry, Ash.) Pikachu lowered his ears and hugged his trainer.  
  
"Don't worry. Pikachu was just joking with me, Ash. Weren't you, Pikachu?" Tracey spoke up as he sat up.  
  
"Pika." (Of course.)  
  
"Hey, you guys. I don't know about you but I'm hungry. Let's order something to eat." Ash's stomach growled as he spoke.  
  
"I'm all for that. There's a menu right over here with a list of everything that they have available." Brock said as he picked up the menu and let the others look over his shoulder.  
  
After everyone made up their minds what they wanted to eat for breakfast, Ash made the call to room service and was told that someone would be down very soon. Five minutes later someone knocked on the door of the room. Misty went to answer it, thanked the steward, and gave him a tip as she took the food and went back in the room. When they had finished breakfast the group tried to decide what they wanted to do for the rest of the day.  
  
"I think that I just want to go swimming and lounge by the pool today so that I can try to work on my tan." Misty said happily.  
  
"That sounds like a good idea, Mist. I think I'll come with you. We've done such a good job of wearing ourselves out the last couple of days that it'll be nice to have just a lazy day to relax by the pool." Ash agreed as he took Misty into his arms and hugged her.  
  
"I think I'll join you guys in a little bit. First I'm going to go jogging for a while up on deck." Brock said as he headed out the door.  
  
"What about you, Tracey. What did you have in mind for today?" Misty asked.  
  
"Well, I don't know what I'll do later but for right now I'm going to take another quick snooze. I'm not used to getting up at 7:00 in the morning and I'm still tired. You guys go on ahead up to the pool and enjoy some time alone. After I catch a few winks then I'll probably come join you." Tracey said with a yawn.  
  
"Okay, Trace. You can go back to sleep for a while and not have to worry about us disturbing you. Whenever you wake up you're more than welcome to come join us." Ash grinned as he and Misty headed out into the hallway.  
  
"See you later, Tracey. Pleasant dreams." Misty whispered as she closed the door behind them. But Tracey hadn't even heard what his friends had said because as soon as he had finished talking, he had laid down on the empty bottom bed and drifted away into peaceful dreams.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
At the pool, Ash and Misty put their towels on two chairs to stake their claim. It was very nice for them to get to have some time together where it was just the two of them. It was so early that they had the whole deck to themselves.  
  
"Hey, Mist. You do remember that there is a formal dinner tonight don't you?" Ash asked.  
  
"Yep. I can't wait to see the look on your face when you see what I'm wearing. It's going to be a surprise I think." Misty teased with a wry smile.  
  
"Oh, no you don't. You're going to tell me about your dress. You know I can't stand suspense." Ash retorted.  
  
"I won't tell you. You'll just have to wait until tonight." Misty knew what she was going to have to do to keep Ash quiet about this and she was just waiting until the right moment.  
  
"Come on, Misty." Ash pleaded.  
  
Just then, Misty decided that it was time to make Ash realize that he could not keep pestering her. As his punishment she decided to use the one thing that Ash feared most of all. She walked over to where an unsuspecting Ash was sitting in one of the lounge chairs and sat on his legs.  
  
"Misty, what are you doing?" Ash asked nervously.  
  
"You've been very bad by pestering me like that and now you have to be punished. I happen to know that there is one thing that you can't stand more that suspense." Misty said with an evil smile as she reached down and removed Ash's sandals, causing him to freak.  
  
"Now wait a minute, Misty. You wouldn't actually do what I think you're thinking of doing to me, would you? You wouldn't actually be mean enough and evil enough to put me through that. Would you really resort to tickling me." Ash was really starting to squirm and he put his bottom lip between his teeth. He was extremely ticklish and because of his vulnerability being tickled was something that he feared.  
  
Misty just smirked and nodded as she reached down and started to lightly run her fingers down Ash's feet and watched his eyes bug out of his head though she hadn't succeeded in making him laugh yet.  
  
"I can't believe that Misty would do this. It tickles terribly but I think I can hold back. As long as she doesn't get me on one of my worst ticklish places. If she figures that out then there's no way I'll be able to stand it." Ash thought as he tried desperately to keep from laughing as Misty continued to tickle his feet.  
  
"Hmm. I think someone's trying to keep me from seeing how ticklish he actually is. I guess I'll have to see if I can find a weak point." Misty taunted as she moved her tickling fingers up toward Ash's toes causing him to sweat. "Uh oh. Looks like your toes are one of your tickle spots. We'll see." Misty held the top of Ash's foot back and began to very lightly scratch her fingers under his toes. Seeing the look in Ash's eyes she knew that she had struck a nerve and he wouldn't be able to hold it in much longer.  
  
Ash felt like he was about to jump out of his skin. Even though he tried he couldn't take it anymore with Misty tickling under his toes and he let loose with the laughter he had been holding in. "Ha ha ha ha ha. Please.. stop… Mist. Don't… tickle… my… toes. I.. can't… stand… it. Ha ha ha ha ha. You… know… how… ticklish… my… feet… are… ha ha hee hee hee. Pleeeease… stop." Ash pleaded through a fit of ticklish laughter. He had to convince Misty to quit tickling him. Ash didn't think he could stand anymore.  
  
"Okay. I won't tickle your toes anymore." Misty said as she preceded to lift Ash's arms over his head and give him even lighter, more unbearable tickling under his arms which she knew were even more sensitive than his feet.  
  
"Nooooooo. You… can't… tickle… under… my… arms. I… can't… take… much… more… of… this. Hee hee ha ha ha hee hee hee. Plehehehehehease… stop… tickling… meeeee." Ash was beginning to feel lightheaded.  
  
"I'll only stop tickling you if you promise to be a good boy." Misty teased as she continued her torture.  
  
"Okay…. I… promise. Just… please… stop." Ash said breathlessly as Misty finally stopped tickling him.  
  
After resting and catching his breath for a moment, Ash decided to get back at Misty for what she had done to him. He picked Misty up and headed over to the edge of the pool.  
  
"Ash! What are you going to do? Put me down!" Misty screamed.  
  
"Sure thing, doll." Ash laughed and with that he jumped into the pool with Misty in his arms screaming like a wild thing.  
  
Ash surfaced a second before Misty and swam to the edge of the pool and waited for her. When she finally surfaced, Ash reached out to her and when she grabbed his hand he pulled her to him and kissed her.  
  
"Gotcha!" Ash smiled as Misty hugged him tightly.  
  
"That wasn't nice, Ash." Misty said.  
  
"And you think that what you did was." Ash was smirking at her now just to show that he wasn't angry. At that moment, Brock showed up and surprised them.  
  
"CANNONBALL!" Brock screamed as he splashed into the pool causing a wave to wash over his friends.  
  
"Hey, Brocko. What took you so long to come join us? I could have used your help earlier." Ash asked Brock when he surfaced next to them.  
  
"Sorry. I had to go back to the room and change. Why would you need my help, though."  
  
"Never mind." Ash countered as Misty smiled at him. "By the way, Brock, did you see Tracey when you were at the room?"  
  
"Yeah. He was still sleeping when I was down there. He seemed pretty wiped out when we left him in the room this morning so my guess is that he'll sleep for a while longer." Brock smiled at his friends as they all climbed out of the pool and lay on the deck chairs.  
  
"I think we should all just relax here and take advantage of the sea air and the sunlight." Ash said, closing his eyes. After the ordeal that Misty had put him through Ash was completely exhausted so he made himself comfortable as he dropped off to take a nap in the sun.  
  
"Ash, are you okay?" Brock asked as he glanced at his friend.  
  
"Shh. Not so loud, Brock. Ash is taking a nap it looks like." Misty said as she put her chair right up next to Ash's so that it connected with his and held him tightly as he dozed next to her.  
  
A few minutes later, Tracey emerged on the deck to join his friends. He had rested up and he felt a lot better now. Tracey looked around and noticed his friends. "Hey guys! There you are!" Tracey shouted as he approached.  
  
"Hey, Tracey. Did you have a good rest?" Misty asked as Tracey quietly sat down with them.  
  
"Yeah. It felt really good to get a little extra sleep. Now I'm ready to have fun! What's wrong with Ash?"  
  
"Nothing's wrong with him exactly. He just dropped off about twenty minutes ago. I guess he was tired." Brock said.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. Should we just leave him and let him rest." Tracey asked.  
  
Just then Ash woke up and yawned as he opened his eyes. "What a great nap. I feel so much better and I got a lot of my energy back." Ash nudged his girlfriend in the arm and Misty grinned. "Oh, Mist, I forgot to tell you earlier because we got preoccupied but your not the only one who can keep surprises. I might have one for you too."  
  
"Really. Well we'll just see. I'm just glad that you're here with me. I don't think this would be the same without you." Misty whispered as she snuggled closer to Ash.  
  
"Same here, Mist. I'm glad you made it here, sweetheart. I just want to make sure you know that I'm here for you and I will always be here. I'm not going anywhere." Ash said as he pulled Misty into his arms and held her close to let her feel his love for her.  
  
"I don't know what I would do without you, Ash. I love you so much. Brock, Tracey, I'm so lucky to have you guys as well. You are the best friends that any person could ask for. Thanks so much to both of you for always being there for me and Ash no matter what we were going through. I love you guys too." Misty said as she broke down. At this point it tore Ash's heart out to see his love in such emotional distress and he began to cry as well. Ash and Misty broke momentarily from their hug to reach out to their friends. Brock and Tracey, who were already tearful from the touching things that Misty had said to them, approached their friends and were welcomed into a group hug. For some moments the four close friends stood there embracing each other and cried together in each other's arms for what Misty had gone through. For that one brief moment in time, they all felt the pain and emotional turmoil that Misty had gone through for the past seven months and they all bonded together to comfort each other.  
  
After a few moments of tears and emotion, the group finally broke out of their embrace and were silent for a few lingering seconds. Ash turned to Misty and dried her tears before wiping away his own.  
  
"Hey, I hate to break this emotional moment but we have to get ready for the formal dinner in a few hours so we need to start having fun until then." Tracey said as he wiped his tears away with the back of his hand.  
  
"I have an idea! Why don't we play chicken in the pool? Tracey, you can be on my team and Ash and Misty, you guys are on the other team." Brock smiled as he walked over to the pool.  
  
"That's a great idea, Brock. Come on, Misty. Let's kick some tail." Ash laughed as he jumped into the pool and dunked himself under to allow Misty to climb on his shoulders.  
  
"It just so happens that I was the reigning chicken champion back when we were in high school. Ash and I were an unstoppable team. Who's my first opponent?" Misty pronounced toughly.  
  
"I'll take you on, Misty. Let's go! I'm going to try to break your winning record. Prepare to lose." Tracey shouted a challenge as he got on Brock's shoulders and went into fighting stance.  
  
"Before we get started we should make a few rules. First there is to be no rough fighting and no violent shoves. Second this should be a clean fight so that means no dirty tricks. Finally nobody can throw the fight. Now make this a good hard fight and may the best chicken win." Brock said.  
  
Misty and Tracey launched into an all out fight. At first it was a pretty even battle with both of them pushing and shoving each other and then Misty got the upper hand. She caught Tracey off guard with a hard sideways shove that sent both him and Brock toppling into the water.  
  
"Huh. You're a lot tougher than I thought. Good battle. That was fun." Tracey laughed as Misty gave him a high five. "Wanna trade positions so you can take her on Brock?"  
  
"You bet. I'm rock solid just like the Pokemon I train. She'll have a hard time knocking me down." Brock grinned as he and Tracey switched places.  
  
"We'll just see about that, Brock. Remember that rock is weak against water and I'm in my element here. You're going down." Misty laughed back as the battle began.  
  
Brock and Misty battled each other like they fought Pokemon battles, hard, fast, and furious. At first it seemed like Brock was winning out over Misty but she pulled a surprise attack that caught him totally off guard. When Brock grabbed Misty by the shoulders to try to throw her off balance, she got hold of his arms and pulled him forward, totally throwing off his center of gravity and causing him to plunge over Tracey's head and into the water.  
  
"Good strategy, Misty. I guess rock is weak against water." Brock laughed. Then he looked to Tracey and saw him holding his neck and suddenly Brock became concerned. "Are you okay, Tracey? I didn't hurt you too bad did I?"  
  
"Not really. It's just that you gave my neck an abrupt stretch when you fell over my head. I'll be fine." Tracey smiled reassuringly.  
  
"Hey, guys. It's about time for us to head back to the room and get cleaned up for dinner. There are four of us that have to get ready after all." Ash commented as he swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out.  
  
"Ash's right, guys. We should get going." Misty smiled.  
  
A few moments later they were all gathering their things and heading back down to their room. They had an hour and a half to get ready and head to the dining room for dinner. As they were walking down to their room Ash couldn't think about anything except the big surprise he had planned for Misty. He kept imagining the look on her face.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
An hour later, Ash was standing outside the room with Brock, Tracey and Pikachu waiting on Misty to finish getting ready. Ash couldn't wait until the perfect time to surprise his beautiful girlfriend.  
  
"Why in the world does it take women so long to get ready. What is she doing in there." Brock rolled his eyes. "What's up with you, Ash. You look nervous."  
  
"Yeah, Ash. I've never seen you look this nervous about anything." Tracey commented.  
  
"I am nervous about something. All I can tell you about it is that I have a very big surprise for Misty and I really hope that she likes it." Ash whispered to his two companions.  
  
"I'm sure that she will. Misty loves anything you give her. Look at how she reacted to that necklace you bought her yesterday." Brock tried to reassure Ash.  
  
"Yeah. I think she'd love it if you gave her a cold." Tracey laughed.  
  
At that exact moment Misty opened the door and emerged into the hallway to join the guys. Ash was completely shocked when he saw Misty and his eyes popped out of his head and he started drooling.  
  
"Take it easy, buddy. You're starting to act like me." Brock smiled.  
  
"Wow! You look great, Mist. You are absolutely breathtaking sweetheart." Ash said when he recovered his voice.  
  
"That's right. Man, Ash, if she wasn't your girl I'd make a move on her myself." Tracey said.  
  
"Hey, guys. Wait on me a sec before we head up. I think I forgot something. I'll be right back." Ash said as he disappeared back into the room.  
  
Once he was back in the room, Ash went and rummaged through his suitcase and pulled out a blue velvet jewelry box. He momentarily opened it and smiled when he looked at the elegant diamond ring settled inside it. Then Ash closed the small box, placed it in the pocket of his tuxedo jacket and went back to join his friends.  
  
"Did you find whatever you forget, hon?" Misty asked as Ash took her hand.  
  
"Yep. Let's go."  
  
Then Ash, Misty, Brock, Tracey and Pikachu all walked up to the dining room and were soon seated around the table getting ready to get their dinner.  
  
While they were eating, Ash kept fidgeting around in his chair as he tried to determine the right time to make his proposal to Misty. After dinner as they were all sitting around talking, Ash made up his mind that it was time to put it out there and see what happened. He turned to Misty and took her by the hand.  
  
"Misty." Ash said softly.  
  
"Yeah, Ash." Misty was clearly startled by her boyfriend's sudden change of demeanor.  
  
"There is something that I have been meaning to ask you for some time and now, I think, is the perfect time." Without giving her a chance to say anything, Ash pushed back his chair, pulling out the ring box in the process, and got to one knee before Misty. Pikachu immediately got out of the way, somehow sensing what his trainer was up to. Brock and Tracey glanced at each other and then looked on with their mouths hanging to the floor in shock.  
  
"Mist, you know that I love you more than anything and would gratefully give my life for you in a second. You are the most important person in my life and you would make me the happiest man in the world if you would be my wife so what I am asking is this. Will you marry me, Misty." Ash said with amazing ease that made it obvious that he had been rehearsing.  
  
"Oh, Ash. You don't know how long I have been waiting to hear you say those words to me. Yes, I will marry you, Ash. Nothing would make me happier than to become your wife and spend my life with you." Misty threw herself into Ash's arms and hugged him harder than she had ever hugged him in her life.  
  
After a few minutes Ash pulled back from Misty and slipped the diamond ring on her finger as she admired it with a smile that was almost as bright as the diamond that she now wore.  
  
A little while later the newly engaged couple were walking on the deck with their friends and enjoying spending time together. After a few minutes a quiet voice broke the silence.  
  
"Hey, I'm really kinda tired and it looks like you two want to be alone so I'm gonna head back to the room and rest." Brock said, a tinge of sadness in his voice. "Congratulations guys."  
  
"Thanks. Goodnight, Brock." Ash said as Brock turned and walked away.  
  
The three remaining friends walked around for about ten minutes until Tracey spoke up about something that was getting to him.  
  
"Did something seem wrong to you a few minutes ago. Brock seemed pretty down on the world when he left. I'm a little concerned so I'm gonna head back to the room and see if he's okay and maybe if he'd like to talk to me about it." Tracey said as he headed to the elevator taking Pikachu along with him.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Back in the room that he shared with his friends, Brock was lying on his bed thinking. Since dinner when Ash had proposed and gotten engaged to Misty, Brock had lapsed into a slight depression. He found himself wondering if his day would ever come to even get a girlfriend. Just then, the door opened and Tracey slowly walked in.  
  
"Hey, Tracey." Brock sighed.  
  
"Hi. Are you okay? You seemed a little upset when you left earlier. Is something wrong, Brock? Why don't you talk to me about it?" Tracey sounded very concerned. He knew that Brock was hurting for some reason and needed a friend. Hopefully Tracey could draw him out.  
  
"What's wrong with me, man. I just don't get it." Brock asked as a tear escaped from his eyes.  
  
"I don't understand what you mean by that. There's nothing wrong with you as far as I can tell. You seem perfectly normal to me." Tracey said in an attempt to comfort his distraught friend.  
  
"That's not what I mean. I'm really beginning to think that I'm never going to find any sort of love. I mean I know I have the love of three great friends." He paused and looked at Tracey who gave him a small smile. "That's all well and great but it's just not the same." Brock was barely able to finish speaking as he broke down and wept uncontrollably.  
  
"I know how you feel. But I promise you that things will be all right. There's a girl out there somewhere who's looking for a guy like you to treat her like a queen. You just need to be patient and roll with time and let time do what it's going to. Right now, though, I think it's a good idea for you to try and get some sleep." Tracey said softly.  
  
"I wish I could sleep. The only problem is that I already tried and every time I shut my eyes I see the type of girl I've always wanted to be with and it brings everything home all over again." Brock shook his head.  
  
"Would it make a difference if I told you that I can guarantee that you won't have to have any dreams at all?" Tracey asked as an idea popped into his head.  
  
"Sounds like an idea but I don't understand how you can make a guarantee like that. It's pretty much impossible." Brock was very doubtful of what Tracey was saying.  
  
"It's simple. When I was sleeping on the plane I didn't have a single dream the whole time. I took one of my pills and I was out like a light and my mind was totally blank. I didn't remember anything until I woke up. So I was thinking that since I have plenty of those left for the flights back home I could let you have one of them so you can get some sleep in peace. What do you think?" Tracey was feverently hoping that Brock would go for the idea.  
  
"That sounds like a good idea. Are you sure that you don't mind and I won't be putting you short? Those things are more important for you than me." Brock was very touched by Tracey's gesture.  
  
"Pipichupipika pi pikachu, Pikapichu. Pi pika pikachu ka pi pika." (Tracey is right, Brock. You really need to get some sleep.) Pikachu had been standing silently in the corner watching but now felt compelled to say something.  
  
"You don't need to worry about shorting me. If I weren't sure about this I never would have offered. Besides what's important right now is that you get some rest." Tracey walked over to his backpack and removed one of the sedatives Professor Oak gave him from the tube and handed it to Brock along with a glass of water.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Tracey. You're one of the good ones. I really appreciate this."  
  
"It's really no problem. I'm glad to be able to help. You should get comfortable because that pill's gonna start to relax you in a minute. You'll be out before you know it." Tracey smiled.  
  
"You've got that one right. I'm already having a hard time keeping my eyes open. You were right about something else too. That thing made me really sleepy, really fast. Goodnight, Tracey." Brock said drowsily. He was already beginning to drop off.  
  
"Night, Brock." Tracey said though Brock had barely heard. Thanks to Tracey's generosity he had moments before spiraled away into a dreamless sleep.  
  
Tracey smiled to himself as he noticed Brock was going to be able to get some rest without disturbing dreams. Then he decided to turn on the television at a low volume and wait for Ash and Misty to return.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Meanwhile, Ash and Misty were standing together on the deck looking at the stars that twinkled in the sky. Ash pulled Misty into his arms and held her close to him and enjoyed the feeling of having her in his arms. He was extremely elated that Misty had accepted his proposal and now he got to plan to make her his wife.  
  
"I still can't believe that I have the most beautiful woman on the ship as my fiancé. I love you so much, Misty. Thank you for accepting my proposal." Ash said as he kissed the top of Misty's head as he held her.  
  
"Did you ever doubt that I would do anything else?" Misty laughed. "I wonder if Trace was able to figure out what was bothering Brock."  
  
"Well, I have an idea. Let's go back down to the room and check on our friends shall we. It's 11:30 so we really should be getting back anyway." Ash suggested.  
  
"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. Let's go." Misty smiled as she and Ash walked inside hand in hand and took the elevator down to their room.  
  
When they got to the room Ash and Misty found both of their friends there as they expected. Brock was sound asleep in bed and Tracey was lightly dozing with the television on. Upon hearing Ash and Misty walk in, Tracey opened his eyes and sat up.  
  
"Oh, sorry. We didn't mean to wake you, Trace." Ash apologized.  
  
"You didn't. I actually wasn't sleeping. I had just closed my eyes for a second and I might have dozed off but that's really all." Tracey answered tiredly.  
  
"Okay. Hey, did you ever figure out what was wrong with Brock? He seems to be all right now." Misty asked.  
  
"Hardly. The reason why he was upset was because he feels lonely. I guess it really hit home for him earlier. He was depressed when I came down here and at one point he got so upset that he was crying. He couldn't sleep because of dreams that haunted him so I gave him one of my sedatives and it put him out to the point where he won't be troubled by dreams. I have a feeling that rest is what he needs now." Tracey said.  
  
"Oh. At least he'll get plenty of that. He'll be out cold for hours. That was a good idea to share with Brock. You can tell he isn't having dreams. He seems kinda peaceful actually." Ash looked at his friend and smiled a little.  
  
"Yeah. You're right." Tracey said with a yawn as his head began to nod slightly. "Listen guys. I'm beginning to feel a little sleepy too so I think I'm gonna turn in now. Night, Ash. Night, Misty."  
  
"Goodnight." The couple said together as Tracey closed his eyes and drifted into a sound sleep.  
  
Ash then flopped down onto the bed and Misty sat beside him. Pikachu was already asleep at the foot of the bed.  
  
"You know something, Mist. I actually think I'm too exhausted to sleep. We're going to dock at the next island in the morning so we need to get some sleep. Hey, I have an idea." Ash looked to his fiancé. "Do you think that I can manage to get room service down here without disturbing those guys." he asked as he glanced at their two friends who were totally oblivious to the fact that they were even in the room.  
  
"Somehow I don't think they'd even notice." Misty laughed as Ash got up off of the bed. He then dialed the number for room service and sat on a chair and waited until someone knocked on the door a few minutes later. When Ash ran to answer the door he took a cup from the steward and gave him a tip and went back in the room and noticed that Misty was giving him a very baffled look.  
  
"What's that?" Misty asked.  
  
"Oh. It's nothing really. I just ordered myself something hot to drink." Ash smiled at her harmless curiosity.  
  
"Why did you do that, Ash?"  
  
"It's actually quite simple my dear. When I get myself like this where I'm too tired to rest then I make something hot and drink it. Works like a charm really. Relaxes me and puts me to sleep every time." Ash said as he sipped from the cup in his hands. A few minutes later Ash finished his drink and climbed back in bed and sat next to Misty who was sitting up in bed with her laptop resting on her legs.  
  
"What a day!" Ash whispered as he stretched his legs out and rested his back against the rail of the bed.  
  
"Yeah. We laughed, we cried and you and I got engaged. It has been kind of interesting at that." Misty smiled as Ash bent over to kiss her on the cheek.  
  
"What is that you're working on, love? If you don't mind my asking of course." Ash asked as he settled down to rest his head on the pillow.  
  
"Oh. This is just one of the programs on here that I keep sort of a journal on. There's not much that can't be done with technology these days. It really is amazing." Misty whispered. Just then she noticed that Ash was nodding slightly and trying to stay awake to finish the conversation. "I guess you were right that drinking something hot always succeeds in being able to lull you to sleep. So I have a very nice idea. Why don't you just close your eyes and let your mind drift away."  
  
"Hmm. Yeah, that does sound pretty nice. I'm too tired to stay awake any longer. Night, Mist. I love you." Ash muttered sleepily as he closed his eyes and cuddled closer to Misty.  
  
"I love you too, Ash. Sweet dreams. Sleep well my love." Misty bent down and kissed Ash on the forehead as his mind clouded over with darkness and he slipped off into a very restful sleep.  
  
As soon as Misty was sure that Ash had nodded off, she turned her attention to her laptop again. She clicked on the journal file that she had minimized and began to write. This is what the entry said:  
  
Dear Journal:  
  
I am sitting here in the room now and I am the only one awake.  
  
Brock and Tracey have been asleep for some time and Ash has  
  
just now drifted off. I can't believe what happened today. Ash  
  
actually proposed to me at dinner tonight and I said yes. He is  
  
now my fiancé. I am even now glancing down at him sound  
  
asleep by my side and I can't believe what has happened. He  
  
seems so peaceful while he sleeps and he is very beautiful.  
  
Anyway, goodnight journal. I am going to sleep now.  
  
Misty saved what she had written and then powered the computer down and placed it on the table right behind the bed. Then she settled into bed and lay down. As she did, Ash shifted slightly and laid his head on Misty's chest. Misty just stroked Ash's hair and closed her eyes and she too fell asleep, dreaming of finally becoming his wife. 


	14. A Miracle Before Dawn

Chapter 14: A Miracle Before Dawn  
  
Brock came to at about 3:00 in the morning and was very grateful to Tracey for being willing to share with him and help him to rest. Tracey had been right and for the past several hours he had slept very deeply and wasn't troubled by any dreams. When his vision focused Brock looked around the room and smiled when he noticed his friends.  
  
"I must be one of the luckiest guys in the world to have such great friends. I've known Ash and Misty for the better part of my life and even though I haven't known Tracey for very long I still feel that we have some kind of connection. No wonder Ash and Misty trusted him on their adventures when I left for that time. I'm glad that he and I got to know each other." Brock thought as he smiled to himself.  
  
After a little while Brock realized that he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep so he decided that he would go up to the deck and go for a walk. So he carefully climbed down from the bed, got his key card and slipped into the hallway, quietly pulling the door closed behind him. Little did Brock know, though, as he stepped into the elevator and rode to the top deck that something was about to happen that would change the course of his life forever.  
  
When Brock stepped out of the elevator and walked out onto the deck, he took a deep breath and savored the sea air. After a few minutes of walking on the deck, Brock sat down on one of the deck chairs and looked out over the water. Just then he imagined what it would be like to have a special someone by his side to watch this with him and he sighed heavily. But what Brock didn't know was that there was a woman standing in the shadows watching him and trying to get up her nerve to talk to this interesting guy.  
  
After about fifteen minutes of watching Brock staring out at the ocean the woman decided that she had to take a chance in talking to this man. So she slowly moved from the shadows and moved toward where Brock sat. She was going to at least say something.  
  
"Hi. I couldn't help but notice that you looked a little lonely. Would you like some company?" the woman asked quietly.  
  
Brock looked up and was completely flabbergasted. Right before him stood a beautiful woman who looked about his age with long, flowing auburn hair and brown eyes. "Yeah. My name's Brock. Would you mind if I asked your name?" Brock said after a moment.  
  
"Oh, sorry. My name is Angelica."  
  
"A lovely name that matches a very lovely young woman. I would love if you would sit down and join me." Brock said as Angelica blushed and sat down next to him.  
  
"Thank you for the compliment. I'm very glad that I decided to come over and introduce myself." Angelica smiled as she covered Brock's hand with her own.  
  
"I was wondering something Angelica. If you don't mind my asking, what in the world made you come over and talk to a guy like me?" Brock asked.  
  
"Well, I was standing in the shadows for a while watching you and trying to get up the nerve to come over and say hello. I just thought that you were cute staring out at the water like that and you seemed like the type of interesting guy that I have been looking for. I was nervous so it took me a while but I finally decided that I was going to try and start a conversation with you. I'm really glad that I did." Angelica smiled and put her head on Brock's shoulder.  
  
"I'm glad you did too. Say, Angelica, I have a great idea. My friends and I are going to get off and hang out on the island today, maybe spend the day at the beach so I was thinking that maybe you'd like to come along with us so you and I can get to know each other better. You can meet my friends too. I'm sure they'd be happy to add another member to our little group."  
  
"Yeah. I'd really like that. It'll be great to get to meet your friends seeing that I came on the ship by myself. I am also looking forward to getting to know you a lot better. Why wait though. Let's start now. First of all, what do you do for a living?" Angelica smiled.  
  
"Well I am a Gym leader. I run a Pokemon Gym in Pewter City and I have a herd of brothers and sisters that stay there with me. But before I did that I traveled around with two of my friends while one of them trained to compete in the Pokemon League. It was a crazy experience. I think you'll really like my friends though."  
  
"If you don't mind my asking, what was a nice looking guy like you doing out here in the middle of the night, Brock?"  
  
"Well I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I decided to come up here and take a walk. Then I noticed that it was kinda different watching the ocean rock in the twilight so I sat watching it and then you came over and here we are." Brock smiled and put an arm around Angelica's shoulders.  
  
"Don't you think that your friends will be worried when they wake up and you're gone?" Angelica asked.  
  
"Yeah but then they'll realize that I'm probably up here somewhere and come looking for me. We had a similar situation the first morning on the ship." Brock shrugged and looked at his watch.  
  
"Hey look, the sun's rising. It's so beautiful. Even more so now that I have someone to share it with."  
  
"You sure have that right. It seems like this morning all of my dreams came true because I met you and I think that this is the beginning of something very nice." Brock smiled.  
  
"Me too." Angelica smiled as she and Brock sat there watching the sunrise together.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Back in the room, night's spell was beginning to wear off and the three sleeping friends began to awaken from their sleep. Ash was the first to awaken and as he looked around he noticed that Misty was asleep next to him and Tracey was sleeping across the room but Brock was nowhere to be found.  
  
"Hmm. I wonder where in the world Brock got to. This is really strange that he would disappear like this." Ash whispered to himself. Just then Misty woke up and looked at her fiancé with a smile.  
  
"Did you say something, honey?" Misty asked.  
  
"Yeah. I just realized that something or rather someone is missing. I woke up and realized that I didn't hear any mumbling and then I realized that Brock isn't here. He must have woke up and gone off somewhere. We have about an hour or so until we have to go up to the dining room for breakfast so I think we should go and look for Brock. Why don't you go ahead and start getting ready for breakfast and I'll see if I can't try to wake Tracey." Ash whispered as Misty disappeared into the bathroom.  
  
Ash then walked across the room and attempted to wake Tracey so that he could help them search for Brock. First Ash tried reaching up and shaking Tracey's shoulder to try to wake him and when that didn't seem to phase Tracey at all Ash yanked the covers off of him and this succeeded in awakening him. Tracey opened his eyes and yawned as he sat up.  
  
"What's going on, Ash? Is something wrong?" Tracey asked sleepily.  
  
"Well, we do have a little bit of a problem, Trace. We're going to have to form another search party because Brock's gone." Ash said.  
  
"Oh, no. Well there are only so many places that he could have gone seeing that we are on a ship. Let's hurry up and get dressed so that we can find him and go get some breakfast." Tracey said as he jumped down off of the bed and he began to get dressed.  
  
A few minutes later Misty finished getting ready and emerged from the bathroom to join the others. Ash walked over and woke up Pikachu and decided to get him to help them.  
  
"Hey, Pikachu. Can you help us out with something little buddy? Brock has disappeared and you did such a good job helping us find Misty the other day that I was wondering if you might help us again." Ash smiled as he patted his Pokemon on the head.  
  
"Pi pika pikachu. Pika chu ka, Pikapi." (Here we go again. Sure I'll help, Ash.) Pikachu sighed as he jumped up on Ash's shoulder and the group headed up to the deck.  
  
When the group reached the top deck, Pikachu jumped down off of Ash's shoulder and took off in the direction that he thought Brock had gone. After a few moments, the little yellow Pokemon found what he was looking for and shouted out to the others to let them know.  
  
"Pikapi, Pikachupi, Pipichupipika! Pi pika! Pikachu ka Pikapichu!" (Ash, Misty, Tracey! Come quick! I found Brock!) Pikachu shouted as he jumped up and down.  
  
Upon hearing Pikachu shouting, Ash, Misty and Tracey nearly trampled each other trying to get to him. When they saw Brock and Angelica sitting together they all three stopped so fast because they didn't know who the girl was that they ran into each other and went crashing to the deck.  
  
When they heard the noise of the collision, Brock and Angelica took their attention from each other and the sunrise to see what had happened. Upon seeing his friends crumpled on the ground Brock couldn't help but laugh at this ridiculous sight.  
  
"Hey guys! I was wondering when I might run into you. Are you three okay?" Brock grinned as the three heaps got up off of the ground and turned back into people.  
  
"We're fine. I guess nobody has to ask how you are. Now where in the world did you manage to find this lovely young lady?" Tracey asked as he approached with Ash and Misty and nudged Brock in the arm.  
  
"I thought you'd never ask. Ash, Misty, Tracey this is Angelica. We met a little while ago. Angelica, these are my friends. That's Tracey over there and the guy with the Pikachu is my best friend Ash. The girl is Ash's fiancé Misty. She's my other best friend. Those two are the ones that I was telling you about." Brock grinned.  
  
"It's very nice to meet you all. In the hour or so that I've known Brock he's told me a lot about you. As a matter of fact Brock asked me to come to the beach today. That is, if you guys don't mind."  
  
"Of course not. The more the merrier. We'd be glad to have you come along with us today." Ash smiled.  
  
"Sure. We'd love for you to come, Angelica. How did you meet Brock if you don't mind my asking." Misty said.  
  
"I don't mind at all. About an hour or so ago I had come up here to think and I happened to see Brock looking out at the water. At first I was nervous so I hid in the shadows but then I realized that I was interested in this guy and nothing was going to happen unless I got over my fear. So I walked over and said hello and luckily Brock and I hit it off." Angelica smiled as Brock took her hand.  
  
With their new friend along with them, the group headed to the dining room to have some breakfast. As they were walking, Ash and Misty were holding hand and though none of the others actually noticed, Brock and Angelica were also walking hand in hand. Brock was feeling happier than he had ever felt in his life because he had finally found everything he had ever hoped for. 


	15. The Island Where Dreams Come True

Chapter 15: Island Where Dreams Come True  
  
Sitting in the dining room, the group sat at their table and talked over breakfast. The main topic of conversation was to try to better get to know this kind, lovely young woman who had so quickly captured Brock's heart and become the object of his affections. Angelica seemed to be equally returning Brock's sentiments towards her. Even now they were holding hands and sitting very close to each other.  
  
"Hey Brock. Didn't I tell you that if you were just patient with things then everything was going to work out all right?" Tracey smiled at his friend.  
  
"Yeah. That you did, Tracey. I'll admit that at first I thought you were a little bit crazy but now I realize just how right you were. I never would have thought that I would be sitting here right now with this lovely angel." Brock wrapped his arm around Angelica and hugged her.  
  
"Ash, I was admiring your Pikachu earlier. I was wondering where you caught him. I have a few Pokemon of my own and I have always wanted a Pikachu." Angelica asked.  
  
"Well, I didn't actually catch Pikachu. A friend of mine back where I live gave him to me when I started traveling to capture Pokemon and compete in the Pokemon League." Ash lightly patted Pikachu's head when the little Pokemon jumped into his trainer's lap at the mention of his name. "Pikachu was my very first Pokemon. Say hi, Pikachu."  
  
"Pika Pichukapika." (Hi Angelica.) Pikachu said.  
  
"Oh. I was hoping that you might know where I might be able to capture a Pikachu. Yours really seems to like you a lot."  
  
"Actually it wasn't always this way. When I first got Pikachu he didn't like me at all. He wouldn't obey anything I asked him to do and all he seemed to want to do was thundershock me. The way that I got Pikachu to trust me was by saving his life. Once Pikachu realized that he could trust me then we eventually got very close and now Pikachu is my best Pokemon friend. He's been with me about as long as I can remember and I wouldn't have it any other way." Ash grinned as Pikachu nuzzled up to him.  
  
"Pi pika chu ka pikachu pi pika, Pikapi." (I wouldn't have it any other way either, Ash.)  
  
"Actually, a closer relationship with Pikachu isn't all that Ash got that day. In the process of saving Pikachu, Ash took off with my bike and met me. After he crashed my bike I decided to tag along with him and eventually we fell in love but we denied it for so long that Brock and Tracey knew how Ash and I felt about each other before we did." Misty smiled and gave her fiancé a kiss.  
  
"It actually took a long time. When I first met them these two were constantly fighting. Sometimes I felt like if I weren't there they would've killed each other. But if I had it to do again I wouldn't have done a single thing differently." Brock spoke up.  
  
"It's nice to know that I'm not the only one. When I was traveling with them it was the exact same way." Tracey laughed. "But what really matters is that they finally put it all behind them and found their way to each other."  
  
"Hey, guys. Why don't we hold our thoughts and finish our talking out on the beach. If we stay here all day, we'll miss out on the beach all together. I want to get back on board in time to see the show tonight. I heard that it's going to be really great. So what do you guys say we get going?" Ash said with an audible eagerness in his voice.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good plan. I am really looking forward to spending the day on another island. We really should get going so we can have plenty of time of the beach." Misty smiled as she took Ash's hand and walked to the elevator. Little did the happy group know that this day was going to be full of even more wonderful surprises.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
After they had gotten off of the ship and gotten down to the beach, the friends began looking for something interesting to do for the afternoon. It, fortunately, didn't take all that long.  
  
"Hey, there's a catamaran boat over there that looks like its getting ready to launch soon. I don't know about you guys but I think that seems like a great way to spend the afternoon." Tracey suggested brightly as he gestured to the small boat over in the distance.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. A slow paced, relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Why don't we go and find out about it." Brock said and took Angelica by the hand and went after Tracey to where the boat sat on the beach, followed closely by Ash and Misty.  
  
Once they were on board the catamaran, the group split up and went to different areas of the boat. Ash and Misty walked up to the front and stood looking down into the crystal clear water. Brock and Angelica walked around for a minute before eventually going to join Ash and Misty while Tracey went to the back of the boat, pulled out his sketch pad and began to draw something as the small catamaran took to the open water.  
  
Tracey was so immersed in his sketch that he didn't even notice the girl that came walking around the corner and proceeded to trip over his legs. She tumbled forward with a cry as Tracey immediately dropped the sketch pad, reached out and caught her in his arms. The two just sat there like that for a minute trying to take in everything that had just happened.  
  
"Thanks so much for catching me. I'm very sorry for tripping over you. I really do need to pay more attention to where I'm going. By the way, my name is Carla."  
  
"Oh, its okay. My name is Tracey. I'm just glad that I was able to help. I happened to be in the right place at the right time. Well, since you're here I'm wondering if you would like to sit and talk to me for a while." Tracey smiled as he offered Carla the invitation.  
  
"Sure. That sounds like a great idea." Carla said as she sat down next to Tracey. "I like the picture you're drawing. It's very nice."  
  
"Thanks. It's really just a hobby. I work with Pokemon for a living. Its something that I really enjoy."  
  
"Wow! That sounds interesting to get to work with Pokemon everyday. I would really like to hear more about it. Where are you staying at, Tracey?" Carla asked with enthusiasm. She was beginning to grow fond of this guy that she had met by accident.  
  
"I'm traveling on the S.S. Anne with some friends. We're setting sail again in the morning. I wish we had more time to talk because I am interested in getting to know you." Tracey blushed slightly.  
  
"Well, you'll get your chance because I just happen to be on the S.S. Anne too. Some wonders never cease. This is a very amazing turn of events isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah it is. Making fast friends with a good looking girl who accidentally tripped over me while I was drawing wasn't exactly what I expected to happen today." Tracey put a hand on Carla's shoulder. "But I'm really glad it did. And I'm also glad that you're traveling on the same ship as we are. My friends and I are going to see the show tonight because we heard it is going to be great and I was wondering if you would like to accompany me."  
  
"I would consider it an honor. I was thinking about going anyway but having someone to see it with makes me more eager to." Carla laughed as she and Tracey continued to shoot the breeze for the better part of two hours. Just then the others were beginning to wonder just what had become of Tracey.  
  
"Hey, guys. Have any of you seen Trace? He seems to have disappeared somehow." Ash suddenly said and Misty agreed.  
  
"Well unless he decided to jump overboard he's here somewhere. In fact, I think I see him right now. Uh oh." Brock said.  
  
"What uh oh. What do you see Brock?" Angelica asked.  
  
"Well, it seems to me that Tracey isn't alone. We're going to have to go over there because the boat is going to be back at the beach in a few minutes." The group went over to where Tracey and Carla sat.  
  
"Mind if we interrupt?" Misty smiled.  
  
"Oh, hi guys. We apparently missed each other earlier so I came up here and started drawing and got a pleasant and unexpected surprise." Tracey said, deliberately avoiding answering the question that he knew very well was on his friends' minds.  
  
"It seems to me that someone was following his own advice. Now quit playing games, Trace. Who is this lady who seems to be so taken with you?" Brock was getting irritated at Tracey for toying with them.  
  
"Oh. So you are curious." Tracey laughed. "Guys, this is Carla. We just met and the friendship quite literally fell into my lap. Carla, there are my friends. Ash, Misty, Brock, and Angelica. That's Pikachu on Ash's shoulder." He happily made all of the introductions.  
  
"It's very nice to meet you, Carla. If you don't mind my asking, though, what did Tracey mean when he said the friendship fell into his lap." Ash inquired of their new friend.  
  
"Funny you should ask that because the story in itself it rather humorous. I was walking around and didn't see Tracey sitting here drawing and I tripped over him and luckily he caught me. Then he invited me to sit down and talk to him for a while and we really hit it off." Carla laughed.  
  
"Hey, guys. I just remembered that I wanted to ask you something. Since Carla happens to be on the S.S. Anne too I was wondering if any of you would object to her coming with us to see the show tonight." Tracey asked his friends.  
  
"Sure. It's okay with us. The more the merrier, right Ash." Misty smiled as Ash nodded his agreement.  
  
"It sounds good to me. That way it'll be like a triple date." Brock said.  
  
"Yeah. Please join us." Angelica said as she stepped closer to Brock.  
  
"Pika pikachu." (You should go with them.) Pikachu cut in.  
  
"Well I guess it's unanimous." Tracey laughed. "You will come to the show and accompany me, won't you Carla?"  
  
"Of course I will. I heard that it is going to be an interesting show too. Wonder what the big mystery is."  
  
"Now that this is settled, I think we should go back on board and grab a quick bite to eat and get ready. Angelica, you and Carla are more than welcome to come to our room and get ready there if you want." Ash offered as he stepped off of the catamaran and then helped Misty down.  
  
"That's great. I think I'll take you up on that offer, Ash." Angelica said.  
  
"Yeah. I will too. That way it'll save us some time over meeting up somewhere."  
  
"Great. Let's get going back to the ship so we don't miss it." Tracey said as he put an arm around Carla's shoulders as they walked back toward the ship. The others weren't far behind and soon they were once again on the ship and on their way back to the room that Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey were staying in so that they could get ready for the show that night. 


	16. Partying Into The Night

Chapter 16: Partying Into The Night  
  
. Once they were back in the room, the friends began to get ready for everything they would be doing that evening. While they were waiting on the girls to finish getting ready, Ash, Brock and Tracey sat around talking about how great it was that their little group of four had gone to six in just one day, actually it was seven including Pikachu. "Can you believe what this day has been so far. I can't believe that I actually managed to meet a beautiful girl who actually feels the same way that I do. Angelica is absolutely a dream come true." Brock said with a wide grin. "Yeah, I know. I ended up having some of your good luck rub off on me. I'll tell you one thing though, I feel lucky too. If Carla hadn't walked up and tripped over me and fell into my arms then I'd be the odd man out. I'm glad I found her." Tracey agreed. "The one thing that I know for sure is that I hope that you guys can be as happy in the new relationships you have found as Misty and I are in ours. It would be great to see that." Ash smiled at his two companions. "Pika." (Yeah.) Pikachu agreed.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Meanwhile, the girls were all helping each other look nice for the guys and having a wonderful time doing it. "This is great having you guys here even though we all just met today. It's been a very long time since I've been able to do something like this. I'd almost forgotten what it was like." Misty said with a laugh. "Why haven't you had the opportunity for female bonding? Don't you have any sisters or anything?" Carla asked. "Or have you been hanging around with the guys for too long?" Angelica quipped giving Misty a quick hug. "I have been with the guys a while but I really wouldn't have it any other way. I do have three sisters but I don't get along with them very well. They only see me as being in the way and try to let me know that every chance that they get. That's why this here is so special to me." "Well in that case we're going to make sure you enjoy it." Carla smiled and Angelica quickly agreed.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Whilst all the female bonding was going on, the guys were wondering if the girls were ever going to come out of the bathroom so that they could go up to grab a quick dinner and go to the show. Brock was dozing and Ash and Tracey were engaged in a game of rock, paper, scissors. Just as Tracey was about to beat Ash for about the twentieth time, a knock on the door startled them. Ash got up and went to the door to find a steward standing there with a booklet in his hand. "Hi. I thought you might like to have this booklet to let you know about the show tonight and some of the things that are going to be available on board for tomorrow." "Yeah. That sounds good. Thanks a lot." Ash smiled as he tipped the steward and went back into the room. As he was glancing over it something just happened to catch his eye and caused him to perk up. "Hey, check this out. I found out what the show is going to be tonight and it proves to be very interesting indeed." "Well what does it say Ash? Don't keep us in suspense." Tracey said. "Yeah. Bring that thing over here so we can see it too." Brock had awakened from his nap when he heard the door and had heard the last comment that Ash made. Ash came back over to join his companions and let them see the booklet that he had gotten from the steward. Ash and Tracey were sitting at the small card table and Brock stepped close to read over their shoulders as they all read about that night's entertainment. "Hmm. It says here that it is going to be a show with a hypnotist. One question, Ash. Why do you think that this is so interesting? I just don't get it." Tracey frowned. "I believe I know what Ash is getting at. It says here that they are looking for volunteers from among the passengers. So what Ash is thinking is why not us. We could go right now and get there in time to volunteer." Brock cut in. "Yeah. You got it Brocko. I think it will be really fun. I for one have always wondered how one of these shows work. Misty and I watch them on television all the time." "I don't know. This idea sounds a little bit dicey to me. I'm not sure I want to try this." Tracey sounded very nervous but tried in vain not to show it. "Think about it Tracey. It would be a cool and awesome surprise for the girls if they finished getting ready and found us gone while we go prepare for this. We can let them find us for a quick dinner and then we disappear again after telling them we'll meet them in the lounge and then they're bound to get a little irritated with us when we aren't there when the show starts but can't you just imagine the surprised looks on their pretty faces when they see that we are a PART of the show. It'll be great!" Ash was very enthusiastic about this idea. "I agree with Ash. Not only out of curiosity but also because I am also interested in seeing the look on the girls' faces. Come on, what do you say Tracey. What do you think?" Brock said. "Okay I'm in. But I'll only do this stupid thing under one condition." Tracey sighed, knowing that he was defeated. "What's your condition?" Ash was beginning to get a little frustrated. "My condition is that you two go too. I am NOT going to make a fool of myself on my own." "Of course we're going to go too. After all, we are like the three musketeers. All for one and one for all, right." Brock laughed. "I guess that is a good point. Let's go." Tracey smiled and started for the door and then a thought occurred to him that caused him to stop and turn around. "Hey, wait a minute. Shouldn't we leave the girls a note telling them that we went for a walk or something? I know we don't want them to know what we're up to but we can't just disappear without a sign either. If we do that then they're sure to get suspicious and figure out what we're up to." Ash considered this for a second and realized that Tracey was right. This was something that he hadn't thought of. So he got a pen and a sheet of paper and scribbled down a quick note to the young ladies in their company. This is what Ash's note said:  
  
Dear Misty, Angelica and Carla,  
  
We have decided to go for a walk and let you girls get ready in  
  
peace. Meet us at the pizza parlor on the top deck in about 30 minutes so we can get a quick something to eat before we take in the show. See ya there.  
  
Love, Ash, Brock and Tracey  
  
Ash placed the note on the table and with a small laugh he followed Brock and Tracey out the door and the three took the elevator up to the deck to be a part of the hypnotist show that was going to take place later that evening.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Five minutes later Misty, Carla and Angelica had finished making each other over and came out to impress the guys only to find that they were gone. Misty immediately thought this strange. "Now where in the world have those three run off to? That was mean of them to leave without saying anything." Angelica said. "Actually they did say something on paper." Carla noted. "Oh yeah. Looks like the left us a note." Misty picked up the letter off the table and read it aloud. "Hmm. I wonder what in the world those three are up to." "It doesn't seem to me like they're up to anything in particular, Misty. According to the note they left us, they went for a walk. My guess is that they got tired of waiting on us." Angelica said. "Yeah. It sounds that way to me too. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as I can tell." Carla agreed. "Maybe. But if I know Ash the way I think I do then he's got something up his sleeve. It seems like he usually does because Ash is a prankster by nature."  
  
* * * * *  
  
In the meantime, unknown to their three female companions back down in the room, Ash, Brock, and Tracey had volunteered and been accepted to be part of the hypnotist show later that evening. After going through pre-show conditioning all that was left for them to do is go to the pizza parlor, grab a seat and wait on the girls. "This is going to be the greatest! I can't believe that we are actually doing this." Ash laughed as Pikachu jumped up onto his normal perch on top of Ash's hat. "Pika pi chu ka chu, Pikapi? Pi pikachu pika pi chu ka pika? Pi ka pikachu." (What about me, Ash? What am I going to do while your doing this? I can't go with you.) Pikachu asked his trainer. "You'll be in the audience with Misty, of course. You didn't think I'd let you miss out on seeing this, did you?" Ash replied as he reached up and patted Pikachu on the head. "This is a really good idea, Ash. The girls are going to freak when they see us as a part of the show." Brock said eagerly. "I didn't think I'd be hearing myself say this but I am actually looking forward to doing this even though I know it is the stupidest, most foolish thing that I have ever done in my entire life. Strange thing is that I'm not really sure why." Tracey cut it suddenly. "I think I know why you're looking forward to it. You want to really impress Carla and you think that this will be a good start by showing her that you have a good sense of humor and women like that in a man." Brock said as he nudged Tracey's shoulder. "You know, this sounds ridiculous, but I think you might be right, Brock." Tracey laughed and then looked away at something as he began to blush slightly. Ash just chuckled at this and rolled his eyes. Then the guys got to the pizza parlor and, as they waited, they knew that this was going to be a night of surprises.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Back downstairs, Misty, Angelica and Carla were getting ready to leave to meet the guys at the pizza parlor when something on the table caught Misty's eye. She picked the booklet up, rolled her eyes and snickered. "So that's what they're up to. Not smart to leave evidence lying around." Misty laughed. "What in the world are you talking about, Misty. What is that you're looking at?" Carla asked as Angelica looked at them like they were both one egg short of a dozen. "It's just that I figured out where our guys have disappeared to. Look at what they absentmindedly left lying around on the table. As soon as I saw it I figured it out." Carla and Angelica looked over Misty's shoulders and then they started giggling too. "Do you really think that the guys would actually go through with something like that? I mean, going on stage with a hypnotism act. Doesn't that sound a little bit extreme?" Carla asked. "It is extreme. I agree with you, Carla. Would they actually do that and if they would, then why? Do you know, Misty?" Angelica asked "I know for a fact that they would do something like that and actually they more than likely have. As for why I don't know but I do have an idea. Ash is a ham and a cut up but he is also a hopeless romantic and he would do just about anything no matter how crazy if he thought it would impress me. So when he saw the announcement for volunteers for the show tonight it probably seemed to Ash like another way to do that and he probably used the newly found attraction that Brock and Tracey feel toward you guys to rope them into going along with him." Misty smiled. "So what do we do about it? Do we say something about it or not?" Angelica asked. "No. It's obvious that they went to great lengths to make sure that we didn't find out about their plan so I think we should just go along with the game. We'll go up to the pizza parlor and meet them for dinner and pretend like we don't know anything. Then when they disappear to go be in the show we can get cameras and things like that so we can have photo record of it. That way we can have blackmail information later." "Misty's right. We don't need to let on that we know anything. If they think that we know then they'll probably decide to pull out of it. They've gone to so much trouble to impress us that it would hurt them terribly if we messed it up." Carla agreed. "Great. Then we've settled on what we're going to do then let's go on and head up the pizza parlor. If we take too long then the guys might get suspicious to why we aren't there." Misty said as she walked out the door with Angelica and Carla on her heels and together they headed up to meet their guys.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Up on deck, Ash, Brock and Tracey were sitting there wondering what in the world was keeping the girls. They were five minutes late already and Ash was beginning to get very worried. "Where in the world are they? What can be taking them so long? Maybe we should go looking for them." Ash was so worried about Misty that he couldn't sit still. "Hey, calm down Ash. I'm sure the girls just got side tracked by whatever they were doing before we left and there're no reason at all for you to worry." Brock tried to reassure his nervous friend. "As a matter of fact, here come our dazzling beauties now." Tracey smiled as his mouth dropped to the floor as soon as he saw Carla. "Wow!"  
  
"I'll agree with that." Brock drooled in agreement as the ladies approached and each greeted her respective man with a sweet kiss. "Hi hon. Did you girls have fun playing beauty parlor or whatever you were doing back in the room? I was getting a little worried about you when you were taking so long." Ash put his arm around Misty as she sat down next to him. "Sorry, sweetheart. I don't ever mean to worry you." Misty leaned her head on Ash's shoulder. She suddenly gasped as she felt something brush up against her leg. "What was that?" Suddenly Pikachu leapt onto Misty's lap. As soon as he had seen them coming, the little yellow Pokemon had hidden under the table to surprise Misty and create some excitement. "Pikachu! Why did you do that? You scared me to death!" Misty said in such a tone that sent her companions rolling with hysterical laughter. "Pi pikachu ka, Pikachupi. Pi ka chu pi pikachu. (I was bored, Misty. I only meant to surprise you.) Pikachu dropped his ears as Misty hugged him. "It's okay, Pikachu. It was kind of funny. Just give me a little warning next time." Misty smiled. "Pika." (Okay.) Soon they had gotten their food and were happily chowing down amid a sea of dinner conversation.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Immediately after they finished eating, Ash gave a hidden signal to Brock and Tracey to begin to make their leave. It was Brock who came up with a viable excuse. "Hey. I need to go back to the room and get my camera so I can take pictures tonight. I was going to get Ash and Tracey to come with me so that I don't have to go by myself. Is that okay with you guys?" "Yeah. We'll go with you Brock. I have an idea. Why don't you three ladies take Pikachu with you and head to the lounge and get good seats and we'll join up with you in a bit." Ash countered as he handed Pikachu over to Misty and followed Brock and Tracey out of the pizza parlor. As soon as they were gone, the girls waited for a few minutes before taking off to their room to get their cameras. They had to be very careful of what they did because they had Pikachu with them and Misty didn't know if she could let him know that they were onto what the guys were up to. After they retrieved everything that they needed from the room, Misty, Carla, and Angelica walked up to the lounge and got very good seats and waited the fifteen minutes that remained until the show began.  
  
* * * * *  
  
In the meantime, Ash, Brock and Tracey were in all reality sitting backstage getting ready to be part of the show. They listened to the hypnotist go through an explanation of what exactly was going to happen during the course of the hour-long performance. "As I explained during the conditioning before, the first thing that is going to go on is that I am going to talk to the audience and sort of explain to everyone how the whole thing works before we get started. After that I am going to put all of you under hypnosis. Then I'll address the audience again and give you some crazy suggestions and we'll just have a whole lot of fun." "This sounds even better all the time. I am so glad that I thought of this idea." Ash laughed. "I hope that the girls get as big of a kick out of this thing as we hope they will. It seems pointless to do this if they don't enjoy it." Tracey pointed out. "I'm sure they will. They have as great of a sense of humor as we do and if they were to do something like we're doing, we would definitely think it was a hoot." Brock said as they got ready to go out onto the stage for the show.  
  
* * * * *  
  
As the girls were sitting in the audience waiting for the show to start, Misty began to notice Pikachu squirming around in her lap and although she stroked the Pokemon's ears in an attempt to calm him down, she definitely knew why he was nervous. "If Pikachu isn't nervous then I need to tell Ash soon that he has a Pokemon that can do one heck of an acting job." Misty thought at the same moment that the curtains opened slowly. "Show time in more ways than one." "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show tonight. As most of you probably read in the booklets that were delivered to your rooms earlier what type of a show this is but I'll reiterate for those of you who may not have. This is a hypnotism show that has been very popular everywhere else I have performed it so this audience is in for a real treat. What exactly is going to be happening on the stage for the course of the next hour or so is that I am going to be taking these volunteers that you see behind me and placing them under hypnosis to start off with and then we're going to start the fun. As you can probably tell all of these people here seem perfectly normal right now and that's not very interesting at all is it." the hypnotist paused for a moment to receive a loud audience response. "So why don't I change that. Now this isn't quite as easy as it may look so what I am going to need from the audience is complete silence so that my volunteers can concentrate on me instead of distracting background noise." "Ash is crazy. Carla was right, this is a very insane thing to go and do on a whim because they sure couldn't have had enough time to put much thought into this." Misty muttered inaudibly to herself. At the same time on stage, Ash was realizing that the jig could possibly be up for them. "Oh no. I think that I might have left the booklet on the table when we left the room. I sure hope the girls didn't find it and catch on to what we did." Ash thought in a momentary twinge of panic as the hypnotist began to address them now. Ash threw a quick sideways glance to Brock and Tracey before turning his full attention to the hypnotist's instructions. "Okay. Now I want everyone to concentrate on the sound of my voice and only the sound of my voice. I want you to completely relax your entire body and take deep breaths. Now you are all beginning to get very sleepy and you can barely keep your eyes open and when I snap my fingers you'll be in a deep sleep." At this point the hypnotist snapped his fingers and all of the volunteers went completely under hypnosis and most were leaning on each other's shoulders. Then the hypnotist addressed the audience again. "Now I'd be willing to wager that about 95 percent of you think that these people are totally unaware of what is going on around them but that is not true at all. They can all hear and understand everything I am saying to you. Now I'm going to give some of these guys some suggestions and things are going to get very interesting." He then began to speak different things to several people individually before awakening them again. It was the funniest thing that anyone had ever gotten the opportunity to witness. Misty even managed to get a shot of Ash and Brock acting like a Doduo, which made her almost fall out of her seat. "Pika chu pikachu, Pikachupi? Kachu pikachu Kapikachupika chu Pichukapika? Pikapi, Pikapichu ka Pipichupipika pi pikachu. (What do you think of the show, Misty? What about you Carla and Angelica? Ash, Brock and Tracey are hilarious.) Pikachu asked. "This is a very funny and wonderful thing, Pikachu." Misty smiled, cuddling the Pokemon close to her. "In fact, I don't think I've seen anything funnier." "Yeah. I am really enjoying this." Carla smiled. "This is hilarious stuff. Oh my goodness. Look at Tracey you guys. What in the world is he doing?" Angelica squealed. At this point, the other two girls turned their attention to the stage where Tracey had been told to, at a cue that he was given, to act like one of the people he admired the most. It was hilarious, though not at all surprising, that he began acting exactly like Professor Oak. "I know exactly what he's doing. Tracey is becoming someone that he admires the most. Professor Oak is a Pokemon researcher in Pallet Town, which is Ash's hometown. Tracey works for him and has admired him ever since we've known him." Misty explained as she began to laugh hysterically at Ash pretending to be his favorite Pokemon, which of course, was Pikachu. "Pika! Pikapi chu ka pikachu!" (Hey! Ash is being me!) Pikachu shouted from his seat on Misty's lap. It seemed like no time at all until the hypnotist addressed the audience again to say that the show was almost over. At this point Misty, Angelica, and Carla had been laughing so hard that they didn't think they would be able to laugh anymore. "Okay. Now I am going to bring the volunteers out of hypnosis so that I can bring the show to a close. Again I need complete silence from the audience." Then he turned back to the volunteers on the stage. "Now this time when I snap my fingers you will all be completely aware and alert." When the hypnotist snapped his fingers, all of those on the stage were instantly alert once again. At this point Misty noticed Ash lean over and whisper something to Brock. "Hey, Brock. I have a feeling that jig might be up." Ash whispered in a concerned tone. "What are you talking about Ash? Our plan was foolproof." Brock didn't quite understand what Ash was getting at. "I hope so. I just don't remember hiding that booklet before we left the room. I'm just afraid that we left it lying around out in the open. If that's the case then there is a strong possibility that the girls may have found it." "Well, even if they did, do you honestly think that they would say anything about it to us. They'd probably not want to make us angry at them." Tracey cut in after hearing what Ash and Brock were talking about. "Yeah. You're probably right Tracey. So was that fun or what?" Ash smiled. Tracey just nodded his head in defeat but made no further comment.  
  
* * * * *  
  
When the girls arrived back to wait on the guys to return, they were talking about what they had just witnessed. "I saw what we just witnessed with my own eyes and still I don't believe it. That was definitely the craziest thing I've ever seen anybody do." Carla said. "Yeah. I can't believe it either. All that just to impress us." Misty shook her head. "I've never had any guy care so much for me as to go through all that. Brock truly is amazing." Angelica grinned. "I agree with you on that one. Even though Tracey and I happened to meet one another by accident, it is the greatest thing that had ever happened to me in my life. I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world." Carla started staring dreamily off into space as she thought about the events of earlier that day that had lead her here. Suddenly, a sound alerted the three girls and shocked them back into reality. That noise was Pikachu excitedly announcing the guys' arrival. "Pikapi!" (Ash!) Pikachu shouted as he ran and leapt onto Ash's shoulder as soon as the three walked into the room. "Hey, buddy." Ash smiled at his Pokemon and then went over to his fiancé and took her into his arms. "Surprise." Ash whispered, as Misty smiled up at him with blue eyes that never failed to melt his heart. "Ash, why did you do that? It was hilarious but it was also the craziest thing that I have ever seen you do." Misty asked after a moment. "We wanted to do something to surprise you." Brock was clearly answering for Ash, who was standing there looking like a child that has just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Yeah. I see that it worked too. It was well worth it. There is just one thing that we were all three wondering on the way back down here and maybe you girls can answer it for us since you were obviously at a different perspective than we were." Tracey added. "Sure. We can try. What were you wondering?" Angelica spoke up as she went to stand at Brock's side and Carla sat down next to Tracey on the edge of one of the beds. "What exactly happened? Did we do anything too crazy?" Ash spoke this time after finally getting his voice back. When Ash voiced the question for himself and his two partners in crime, the three girls simultaneously burst out laughing. This obviously irritated the guys who had no idea what they were laughing at. "What? What's so funny?" Brock asked. "We want to know too." Ash complained. "Yeah girls. It's a blank gap for us. Let us in on it." Tracey chimed in. It took a moment for the girls to regain enough of their composure to where they could even speak. It was Carla who was able to speak first. "Well I don't really know where to even start. I can say that you three are the most hilarious people that I have ever known. At one point, Ash, the guy had you and Brock acting like a Doduo and it was surprisingly accurate." "Pi pikachu ka pika chu pi, Pikapi." (At one point you were acting like me, Ash) Pikachu chuckled from Ash's shoulder causing him to smile. "Yeah, and you were pretty funny yourself Tracey." Angelica said. "I was?" "Uh huh. He told you to be a person that you really admire and you got up there and started acting like Professor Oak. It was actually pretty amazing to watch that." Misty laughed as Tracey suddenly became beet red with embarrassment and put his head in his hands. "Hey, its been quite an evening and its still early so why not see what's on the ship's channel." Ash suggested as he sat down next to Misty and turned the television on after receiving a unanimous agreement. When they turned on the ship's station, it was a surprise to see that what was on was a broadcast of the show that had been taped earlier that evening. "Neat. Now you guys can see how hilarious you actually were." Misty said as they all settled in to watch the repeat performance. Ash and Misty were sitting on their bed, Carla and Tracey were sitting on the lower bed across from them and Brock and Angelica were sitting on the floor. As they watched on television what had transpired and seeing the amused looks on the girls' faces as they saw it again, there was no doubt in Ash's mind that they had done the right thing in setting this up as a surprise for them. An hour later the broadcast ended and Ash turned off the television. It was 9:00 then and the couples decided to go and do their own thing for a few hours before it got too late. "I think that we might just go up and take a walk and look at the stars on the water for a while." Brock said as Angelica took his hand and headed out the door. "Well, Carla, why don't you and I get into our suits and go up and go for a swim or something." Tracey smiled. "Sure. Do you mind coming to my room with me so that I can get my things first" Carla replied. "Okay. Let's get on the way." Tracey took Carla by the hand and they departed as well, leaving Ash and Misty all alone in the room. "I guess that leaves one decision for us, Mist. What are we going to do for the next few hours?" Ash said as he turned to Misty. "Hmm. Well I don't know. Do you want to take Pikachu and go up and get some ice cream or something?" Misty suggested. "Yeah. That sounds fine to me. Then we can come back here and relax." Ash agreed as they finally headed up to the deck with Pikachu, taking a key and locking the door behind them.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Up on the deck, at the exact place where they met, Brock and Angelica sat looking at the ocean and the stars glistening on the surface of the water. "Can you believe what a spectacular day this has turned out to be. I mean, first you and I met and then if that wasn't great enough Tracey and Carla found their way to each other too. It was totally great." Angelica beamed. "Yeah. It was way beyond the realm of anything that I could have ever anticipated would happen today. I also wasn't anticipating Ash talking me into being part of a stage show either. I haven't had a day this eventful in a long time. But I wouldn't have had it any other way and I mean that." Brock put his arm around Angelica and pulled her close to him. At that moment it seemed to Brock that time was frozen in that one magical moment as he sat holding Angelica in his arms and they watched the stars glisten on the water together. He hoped with all of his heart that the two of them could have many more moments like this one.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Tracey and Carla had arrived in her room so that they could get her things and head up on deck to the pool. Tracey had already gotten his things and done a quick wardrobe change before they had left so all there was left was to wait on Carla to get ready. Fortunately this didn't take too long and they were soon on their way out again. A few minutes later the two were at the pool and they had found a place to put their things. After they had staked their claim Tracey jumped into the pool and waited for Carla to slide in behind him. Once she had, he smiled at her and pulled her into his arms and hugged her. Then Tracey lay back in the water and began to float, just letting the water carry him as he held Carla's hand. "Hey. You okay?" Carla whispered after a moment. "Yeah. I was just thinking about all of the activity that has gone on in just the past 24 hours. I mean, man, my life has changed completely and I am the happiest that I have ever been. But there is one slight down side to all of this beauty." Tracey said as he reached out to touch Carla's face. "What's the down side?" Carla was not expecting this and it made her a little nervous. "It's just that there has been so much going on today and my energy is zapped. I am completely exhausted. But it's a good kind of exhaustion." "Hmm. Well I'm a little cold in this water so I have an idea. Why don't we move and go relax in the hot tub for a few minutes. At least its warmer there." Carla suggested as she climbed out of the pool and held a hand down for Tracey to follow. "Yeah. That sounds like a very appealing idea. I'm right with you." Tracey smiled, taking Carla's hand as he climbed out of the pool and led her to the hot tub a few feet away. After a few minutes of relaxing in the hot tub all of the activity of the day started to weigh on Tracey and he leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a moment. Carla noticed this and smiled as she put her arm around him and pulled him closer. "I have a pretty good idea. Why don't we go to your room so you can change into some dry clothes and then we can go back to my room and watch television for a while? How does that sound to you?" Carla whispered in Tracey's ear. "That has got to be the sweetest sounding idea that I have heard all day. I am totally wiped out. I don't remember the last time I was this tired so kicking back and watching television to relax is music to my ears." Tracey said as he and Carla gathered their things and went back to let Tracey change so they could go and relax in her room.  
  
* * * * *  
  
In the meantime, at the opposite end of the deck from where their friends were, Ash and Misty were sitting eating ice cream with Pikachu at a table that had a beautiful view of the ocean. Ash noticed then that Misty had a sense of peace about her that she hadn't had since they had arrived onboard. This made him smile because when Misty was happy, Ash was also happy. "Huh. You look pretty content. Do you mind if I ask what it is that you are thinking about?" "Well, if you would really like to know, I was thinking about yesterday and last night because it was when the nightmare that I was fighting ended and all of my best dreams started coming true. To be honest with you that is all that I have been thinking about pretty much all day." Misty whispered honestly. "Pi pikachu ka pika chu, Pikachupi." (That was very sweet, Misty) Pikachu whispered to her between bites of ice cream. Ash, on the other hand, was so moved by what Misty had just said to him that he couldn't say anything so he just pulled her close to him and hugged her with all of his strength.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Brock and Angelica were off in their own little world together and were so oblivious to everything but each other that a major catastrophe could have erupted right next to them and they would never have noticed it. After a few minutes the new couple decided to take a walk around the deck and just keep enjoying each other's company for as long as they possibly could. "Hey, are you enjoying this half as much as I am?" Brock asked. "No. I'm enjoying it twice as much." Angelica gave Brock a quick hug. "Hey, I'll tell you something that I bet you hadn't heard." "Well what's that, beautiful angel." "You know the island where we were today. Well it's not really surprising that we met while we were on the way to said island because that particular island has a nickname. The legend goes that over the years, many people have had one or more of their long time dreams come true on or in the vacinity of that island so they call it 'The Island Where Dreams Come True'. Sounds interesting doesn't it?" Angelica explained as Brock listened in amazement. "How in the world do you know all of that? If you had made a bet that I didn't know what you told me then you would have won hands down." Brock chuckled. "Well I like to do my homework before I travel somewhere so that I know all about it. Just think, if I hadn't then you would never have known that interesting little tidbit of information." Angelica countered with a wink. "Hey, I have a very nice idea. Why don't we go back to my room and see if we can't find a movie or something on. Does that sound like a good idea to you?" Brock asked. "Yep. I'm up for watching a movie with you. In fact I haven't heard a better idea." Angelica said as she and Brock walked inside from the deck hand in hand and headed down to the room that they had left about two hours before.  
  
* * * * *  
  
After a quick stop for Tracey to change into something a little less wet, he and Carla had arrived in her room to watch television and just relax. As soon as Carla had finished changing after a momentary disappearance into the bathroom, the two sat down on one of the beds and turned the television on. It didn't take very long for the two to find something on that they wanted to watch. Once they decided on a show, Tracey stretched out across the bed and Carla sat close to him. Luckily they chose to watch something that Tracey had already seen before because he was so comfortable that he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be able to stay awake. Tracey had had such an eventful and exhausting day and he was so incredibly tired that as Carla put her arm around him and pulled him closer to her, it became increasingly more difficult for him to keep his eyes open. This was a fact that Carla soon noticed. "Hey. You okay, Tracey?" "Yeah. Just a little sleepy, I guess. Other than that I'm fine." Tracey's voice betrayed the increasing drowsiness that he was trying to hide from her. "I can tell you're pulling my leg. It's obvious that you are hardly awake right now. Why don't you just rest for awhile? You've had a really long day and you could use the rest. I promise if you drift off that I'll wake you before it gets too terribly late." Carla smiled softly. "That sounds very nice." Tracey yawned. Then he rested his head against Carla and closed his eyes while she held him close to her. Within moments all of the day's activity had caught up to him and Tracey was sound asleep in Carla's embrace.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Back in their room, Ash and Misty were lying on their bed watching a science fiction movie when they heard the sound of the lock mechanism tripping and the door opened. Ash looked up and saw Brock and Angelica walking into the room holding hands and smiling. "Hey guys." Brock greeted them. "Hey. Did you guys get tired of star gazing?" Ash asked. "Not really. We just decided that we wanted to come back down here and watch a movie. You guys don't mind a little company do you because we can always go somewhere else." Brock offered. "No way. We don't mind in the least bit to have you hang out here with us." Misty cut in suddenly. "Misty's right. Please join us." Ash agreed. "Okay, thanks. What exactly are you guys watching?" Angelica asked as she sat on the bunk where Brock was sprawled out. "Honestly I don't really know the name of it. All we know is that it's a science fiction. Pretty interesting movie though." Misty answered quietly. About an hour and a half later, it suddenly occurred to Ash that they were missing one of the original members of their party. It was almost 11:30 and no one had seen or heard from Tracey, or Carla for that matter, in over two hours. "Hey, I was just thinking. Has anyone seen Tracey? I wonder where in the world he got to." Ash said. "He's probably somewhere with Carla, Ash. You shouldn't worry. Don't forget, we are on a ship so there are so many places that he could have gone." Brock tried to be reassuring although he also wondered about Tracey's whereabouts. "Yeah. I guess you're right." Ash said before turning his attention back to the television screen.  
  
* * * * *  
  
At the same time, Carla looked at her watch, noted the late hour and decided that she needed to attempt to wake Tracey. She reached over and gently shook his shoulder and gave him a kiss on the head. Slowly enough, Tracey opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Hey. Did you have a good rest?" Carla whispered. "Yeah. I guess I'm more wiped out than I thought. What time is it?" Tracey yawned. "It's 11:30. You slept for almost two hours." "Oh man. As much as I enjoy this, I'm really going to have to get back. Ash, Misty and Brock will more than likely send out a search party after me if not." Tracey said as he stood up and stretched. "Okay. I'll walk with you. Is that okay?" Carla said. "Yeah. I'd like the company." Tracey smiled sleepily as he and Carla walked out into the hallway.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The movie that the others were watching still had about 45 minutes left when they heard voices outside the door and a few moments later Tracey walked in looking very tired but also very happy. "Hey pal. We were getting a little worried about you." Brock greeted his friend with a smile and Angelica smiled as well. "Sorry guys. After we got finished swimming and everything we went back to Carla's room to watch television and I was so tired that I ended up falling asleep. She woke me up and we walked back down here." Tracey replied as he climbed up onto his bed and fell asleep without even bothering to change. Brock and Angelica just looked at each other, shrugged, and turned their attention back to the end of the movie. By the time the movie ended it was after midnight. Angelica sat up and accidentally bumped her head on the upper bed gaining her a tired chuckle from Brock. She kissed him softly on the cheek and smiled. "That hurt. You think that's funny?" Angelica teased. "No. Of course not. It's just not everyday that something like that happens." Brock smiled at her. Angelica looked at her watch and grunted. "It's 12:15. I'm going to have to get going." "Why do you have to leave now? I'd like you to stay a little longer." Brock complained. "I know you would but I have to head back and go to bed." Angelica paused a moment to look around the room. "Tracey is completely zonked, Ash and Misty have fallen asleep and from the looks of it you're just about there yourself. We'll see each other tomorrow but neither one of us is going to be in the mood to have any fun if we don't get some sleep. So I'm going to do that and I will see you first thing in the morning so we can all have breakfast." "Okay. At least let me walk you to the door then." Brock said as he stood up and stretched his arms out. "Nothing would please me more right now." Angelica smiled as Brock walked her out and took her in his arms. Then they shared in a long goodnight kiss, as time seemed to stand still. "Goodnight, Brock." Angelica smiled breathlessly. "Night, babe. See you in the morning." Brock replied as his angel disappeared down the hall. Brock then turned and went back in the room and quietly closed the door behind him, being very careful not to awaken his three sleeping friends, and changed clothes before climbing up and crawling into his bed. He lay there for a few minutes thinking about the newfound feelings that he had for Angelica. Brock drifted off to sleep thinking of how special she was to him.  
  
A/N: To anyone who is regularly following this story sorry it took me so long to update but I have been through a lot lately. My birthday was the beginning of this month, I have been working, I had my wisdom teeth cut out and I have been wrestling with a killer case of writer's block. Ironically enough, the surgery is what broke it. Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this newest chapter. Please R&R so I can post the next chapter, which is in the works, as soon as I finish. If you would like to e-mail me my e-mail address is rachelcooper@hotmail.com. I check my e-mail regularly. But please still keep leaving those reviews. They help a whole lot. ~Rachel 


	17. Beautiful Day

Chapter 17: Beautiful Day  
  
The next morning, Tracey still felt a strong sense of happiness as he opened his eyes to the morning. As he gradually became more awake he remembered what had happened the night before. He smiled to himself as he sat up in the bed and became lost in his own thoughts.  
  
A few minutes later, Tracey was startled as a voice broke the silence. "Looks like you're off in your own world. Can I ask what it is that you're thinking about?" Ash said suddenly.  
  
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about last night and how wonderful everything was. Sorry if I worried you guys last night." Tracey said.  
  
"That's fine. We were just curious because we didn't have any idea what had happened to you. After a while though we realized that you were more than likely off somewhere with Carla." Ash smiled.  
  
"Maybe I should call you Sherlock Ash. Carla and I went up on deck and relaxed in the hot tub for a while and then we ended up going back down to her room and we had planned on watching television for a while. But I was so exhausted after all we went through yesterday that I ended up falling asleep so I'm not really sure what she did after that." Tracey smiled and leaned back to stare at the ceiling above the bed.  
  
"I can probably imagine." Ash countered for he and Misty had been in enough similar situations that he had a pretty good idea.  
  
"Well anyway, Carla woke me up at about 11:30 or so and walked back down here with me. You probably didn't know I was back because when I came in you and Misty were already asleep and Angelica was still down here and she and Brock were watching something on television. I remember that Brock said that you guys were concerned so I told him pretty much the same thing we talked about now. Then after that I climbed up in bed and crashed out without really paying them any mind. I didn't even hear Angelica leave."  
  
"Hey, can you believe that this is going to be our last day onboard and we get back to the Seafoam Islands tomorrow morning. I heard there is supposed to be a big party on deck tonight to celebrate the last night of sailing. I wonder what we can do until then though." Ash said.  
  
"I know. We can go up and play chicken in the pool again. With Carla and Angelica we can have three teams and a three on three battle. Also this way I don't have to worry about Brock falling over my head again." Tracey laughed.  
  
Just then another voice decided to join in the conversation. Brock had just awakened and wondered what Ash and Tracey were laughing at.  
  
"Morning guys. What are you laughing about?" Brock yawned.  
  
"Morning Brock. Ash and I were trying to figure out what we could do today until the big party tonight so I suggested we go to the pool for a three on three game of chicken." Tracey laughed.  
  
"Yeah and we were remembering the funny things that happened when we played the other day." Ash continued where Tracey had stopped.  
  
"Oh. I actually think that sounds like an excellent idea. With three fighters and three bases this could prove to be very interesting indeed. I can't wait to see what happens." Brock said with a grin.  
  
"Yeah. I wonder who would win a contest like that." Tracey wondered aloud.  
  
"You have any doubt?" Misty laughed, startling Ash. "Sorry, babe. I didn't mean to scare you."  
  
"It's okay, sugar. I just didn't know that you were awake so when you said something it took me by surprise. But it was a good surprise!" Ash smiled as he kissed Misty.  
  
"We really need to get moving so we can get ready. It's almost time to head up for breakfast and Angelica and Carla are going to be down here really soon." Ash said finally.  
  
"You're right. We do need to get ready." Brock agreed as the four friends ran around the room trying to get dressed and ready for breakfast and at the same time mildly amusing Pikachu.  
  
A few minutes later, a knock came on the door. Tracey went to answer it and was very delighted to see Carla standing at the door with Angelica. He opened the door and pulled Carla to him and gave her a kiss, which she happily returned, as Angelica squeezed past them to be greeted the same way by Brock. After the romantic greetings were complete, the three couples walked up to the dining room for a big breakfast.  
  
* * * * *  
  
After they had breakfast, the group thought about what they wanted to do for the afternoon. Angelica and Carla had no idea that the others had already come up with a wonderful idea.  
  
"So what are we going to do this afternoon? There are so many things to choose from." Angelica asked.  
  
"Yeah. I'm definitely in the mood for some fun." Carla agreed, laying her head on Tracey's shoulder.  
  
"Well, we were thinking about it this morning while we were getting ready and we kinda came up with an idea." Ash said as he fed Pikachu a bite of ketchup smothered toast.  
  
"Well what's your great idea? I'm really intrigued." Carla asked.  
  
"We thought that we could go up to the pool and play a three on three game of chicken. You against Angelica and Misty in a chicken fight. We played the day before you and I met and had a very good time with it." Tracey smiled and gave Carla a kiss.  
  
"I think that sounds like an excellent idea. It's a very good way to pass the time this afternoon." Angelica said.  
  
"Yeah. I heard that there is a big party on deck this evening and I was thinking that we could all go and check that out together." Ash cut in.  
  
"Okay. Now that we have a game plan for the day, I say we get ready and go to the pool." Brock said.  
  
"Good. We'll go and get ready and you can get ready too and we'll meet you down in your room in about fifteen minutes." Carla said and Angelica nodded her agreement.  
  
"Okay. Go ahead and we'll see you girls soon." Tracey smiled as Carla and Angelica walked away toward their rooms and the others went down to theirs.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A short time later Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey were sitting in their room, having changed into their swimsuits, waiting for Carla and Angelica to arrive. They were all going to go and hang out at the pool and play chicken.  
  
Carla was the first to get there and when Tracey went to the door he was absolutely speechless. Carla was standing at the door in her swimsuit with her towel and things in her arms and she had her long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail that hung about halfway down her back. He was greeted by Carla's musical laughter when she saw the stunned look on his face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Carla laughed even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.  
  
"You are absolutely breathtaking, hon." Tracey smiled as soon as he got his voice back.  
  
"Well thank you very much for the compliment." Carla said as she leaned over and gave Tracey a kiss.  
  
While all of this was going on, Angelica had appeared in the hallway and was greeted by Brock, who was totally starry eyed when he saw her. They gave each other a long kiss and went into the room after Tracey and Carla.  
  
As soon as they were all ready, the group took the elevator up to the top deck and walked out to the pool. After they had staked their claim on some deck chairs, all six of them jumped into the pool and began to get ready for playing chicken. Misty was on Ash's shoulders, Tracey was Carla's base and Angelica was using Brock as a perch. After six intense, hilarious battles the score was Misty had won four of the battles and Carla and Angelica had each won one battle. At that point, they decided to take a break from the chicken fights and just sit in the sun for a while. It was then that Tracey got a very good idea.  
  
"Hey, guys. I need to see if I can find a phone or radio that they'll let me use because I have to take care of something. I'll be back in a while." Tracey said as he stood up.  
  
"Don't be long please." Carla pleaded flashing Tracey a heartwarming smile.  
  
"I promise I won't be, love." Tracey smiled as he gave her a quick kiss.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Once he had secured permission to use a telephone, Tracey dialed the number to Professor Oak's lab. He needed to secure permission from Professor Oak before he could go ahead with this idea that he had. After a moment, the image of Tracey's boss appeared on the phone screen in front of him.  
  
"Hello." Professor Oak said cheerfully.  
  
"Hey, Professor. It's Tracey. How are things back at the lab?" Tracey smiled.  
  
"Oh, hi Tracey. Everything's fine here. Are you guys having a good time on your trip?" Professor Oak asked.  
  
"We're having the best time ever. Which brings me to the reason I called you, Professor. I needed to ask you about something." Tracey was hoping that this would work out the way he had planned it.  
  
"What is it, Tracey?" The older man's curiosity was peaked.  
  
"Well, I met the most amazing girl while I was here and she is just as interested in Pokemon as I am. I was wondering since you were considering hiring another person to help us out anyway, could I ask this girl to come back with me and fill that position?" Tracey had a glimmer of hope in his voice and this made Professor Oak smile.  
  
"I think that's a fantastic idea, Tracey. If it's okay with your lady friend then it's perfectly fine by me."  
  
"Thanks a lot, Professor. I need to go now. I'll tell the others hello for you and we'll see you in a few days. Bye." Tracey was very excited now.  
  
"Bye, Tracey." Professor Oak laughed as he broke the connection.  
  
After he finished talking to Professor Oak, Tracey took off back to join the others trying to figure out how he was going to present his proposition to his new girlfriend.  
  
* * * * *  
  
By the time he had rejoined his friends Tracey knew exactly what he was going to say to present his idea to Carla. The others looked up and, seeing the wide grin on Tracey's face immediately wondered why he was so happy. He walked up to Carla and took her hand.  
  
"Hey, hon. Can I talk to you privately for a minute?" Tracey asked with a reassuring wink.  
  
"Sure. Why not." Carla smiled as Tracey led her away from the others so that they could talk.  
  
"I wanted to talk to you in private because I have what I guess you'd call a personal business proposition that I wanted to run by you and see what you thought about it."  
  
"Okay. What did you have in mind?" Carla was becoming very intrigued.  
  
"Well, I told you that I work at a Pokemon lab for a living. My boss, Professor Oak, has been looking for a long time trying to find someone to help me out working in the lab with the Pokemon. So I called and talked to Professor Oak today and we both agreed that you would be perfect and the opening is yours if you want it. So what do you say? Do you want to come and work with us and stay at the lab as well so we can be together all the time?" Tracey asked, his eyes glittering in anticipation.  
  
"Nothing would make me happier. I would love to do that. When does Professor Oak want me to get started?" Carla inquired.  
  
"We thought that you could start immediately. I was going to bring you back with me. If that's okay with you, that is." Tracey smiled.  
  
"That's perfect. I would love to fly back with you. I can tie up any loose ends from there and I know I'll be happy and a great help." Carla laughed as she and Tracey walked back to join their waiting friends for some more bouts of chicken.  
  
When they were back with the others, Tracey and Carla were ready to get back to playing chicken. Earlier even though Misty had gotten the upper hand, Tracey and Carla had been a very good team and given her and Ash a run for their money. On the way back the two had decided not to tell the others about their newest venture and to wait and surprise them the next day when they disembarked the ship.  
  
"Hey guys. There you are. So are you ready to get back to playing some serious chicken?" Misty smiled.  
  
"Yeah. I'm ready to get going again. I plan on trying to take you down Misty. You won't get the upper hand again if I have anything to say about it." Carla giggled in response.  
  
"I'm ready too! Let's go! Don't get too cocky though!" Angelica grinned.  
  
The three girls hopped up on their bases and were fighting furiously again. This time there were six battles and they were a tie. Misty, Carla, and Angelica had each won two of the battles and they were having a great time doing it. But, as they had learned so many times over the course of this trip, all good things must come to an end and soon it was time for them to leave the pool and head back down to get ready for the big party.  
  
* * * * *  
  
After they had gathered all of their things and left the pool, Brock and Tracey walked Angelica and Carla down to their respective rooms while Ash and Misty walked down to their room and began getting ready. It didn't take them very long to clean up and get into some fresh clothes so they sat around talking while they were waiting for Brock and Tracey to return.  
  
"I can't believe what interesting twists of fate have occurred during the course of this vacation. I mean, think about it. First you and I got engaged and then if that wasn't wonderful enough, Brock and Tracey found romance too. It seems impossible that so many wonderful things can happen on a trip that in the planning stages had the potential to go so drastically wrong." Misty said to her fiancé as she snuggled closer to him.  
  
"Yeah, I know. But it just proves that you never know what will happen and sometimes the best things happen when you least expect them to. That's a lesson learned that we shouldn't forget anytime soon." Ash smiled and gave Misty a kiss.  
  
"You sure have that right. There's a lot about this vacation that I will never forget." Misty agreed as the door opened and Brock and Tracey entered.  
  
"Hey guys. Sorry we took so long." Brock said cheerfully.  
  
"Yeah. I just didn't want to leave Carla even though I'm going to see her very soon." Tracey laughed as he blushed a little.  
  
"No problem. I know what that feels like. Before Misty moved in with me and we would go out when I took her home I looked for every possible excuse to keep from leaving her." Ash remembered.  
  
"So when are Carla and Angelica coming down here to meet us for the party." Misty asked.  
  
"They'll be down in about thirty minutes. I'm really looking forward to this party tonight. I hear that there is going to be dancing and music and food. I think it's going to be a total blast." Tracey said with much enthusiasm.  
  
"The best thing about it is that we're all going to get to be together and since you and I have paired off with Angelica and Carla then none of us are going to be alone. That'll just make everything even better." Brock smiled.  
  
In what seemed like no time at all, Angelica and Carla arrived at their room ready to go to the party looking absolutely ravishing. Brock and Tracey promptly started drooling over their girls again, at the same time amusing their companions who were standing by watching everything. After a few moments of this the group went up to the deck to join the party.  
  
When they got up to the deck the party was already started and the music was so loud that it was almost deafening. It was evident from the beginning that it was going to be a great party. All three of the young couples paired off and went to dancing together. Ash and Misty seemed to be completely lost in each other's eyes, Tracey and Carla were lost in each other's arms while Brock was obviously lost in thought and Angelica was confused as to what he was pondering on.  
  
"Hey. What are you thinking about?" Angelica asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was trying to figure something out and I think I just did. Do you want to take a quick walk with me? We'll be back before the others even realize we're gone." Brock replied softly.  
  
"Sure. Why not."  
  
Brock then took Angelica by the hand and led her just inside to where they could talk without being drowned out by the music. Once she could be heard, Angelica took the opportunity to ask her man why they had left the party to come to this secluded area.  
  
"What's up, Brock? Is something wrong?"  
  
"No, nothing's wrong." Brock smiled. "I thought we should come here because I had an idea and I wanted to run it past you. I wanted to get your opinion because if you like my idea then it will affect both of us."  
  
"Okay. What's this great idea? You can't leave me in the dark." Angelica was very curious now and she also realized that Brock was toying with her.  
  
"Well. You know that I run a Pokemon gym and everything. I have been wishing for a long time that I had someone to help out with that and cure my loneliness so I wondered if you might be interested in flying back with us and staying at the gym with me and my brothers and sisters. I think you'd get on marvelously. What do you think Angelica? Would you like to come back with me?" Brock asked hopefully.  
  
"I would love that. There would naturally be some things that would have to be taken care of where I am now but you and I could take care of that together. I would love to fly back with you." Angelica smiled and gave Brock such a big hug that he thought she might break him in half.  
  
After a few minutes the couple broke from their embrace and headed back to rejoin their friends at the party. As soon as they opened the door and were greeted by the deafening music, Brock and Angelica realized how great the silence was that they were just indulging in. When they got back to where the others were, it was apparent that their friends were looking for them.  
  
"Hey! There you guys are. We were wondering where you had run off to. Is everything okay?" Ash asked when Brock and Angelica approached.  
  
"Yeah. Everything's great! We just thought it would be nice to give our ears a break from this loud music. I figured we could be back before you guys realized we were gone but I guess we stayed inside talking a little too long." Brock laughed.  
  
"Now are we going to get back to the party or what! I'm ready to have some fun!" Angelica grinned.  
  
For the next several hours, Ash, Misty, Brock, Angelica, Tracey and Carla enjoyed the party. Soon the music and dancing had finally come to an end and the group decided to go and enjoy some food at a late night dinner in one of the dining areas. Before going to join the others, Ash had decided to go and get Pikachu from the Pokemon party that had taken place in a different part of the ship and let him join them. When Ash appeared Pikachu darted across the room and leapt into his trainer's arms.  
  
"Pikapi!" (Ash!) Pikachu shouted.  
  
"Hey, Pikachu. I hope you had fun. Are you hungry?" Ash laughed.  
  
"Pika chu ka pikachu. Pika ka chu." (You're kidding. I'm always hungry.) Pikachu answered cheerfully as Ash picked him up and headed back to the dining area to join the others.  
  
When Ash and Pikachu arrived, the friends immediately went about digging into some delicious food until they thought they were going to burst. After a very big midnight snack they decided that it was time to head back to their rooms and pack their things and get ready to disembark the next morning.  
  
Ash and Misty, along with Pikachu, arrived back in their room alone as Brock and Tracey were saying goodnight to Angelica and Carla so they didn't expect them for some time. After they had their things packed up and had placed their checked luggage outside the door for the steward to pick up, Ash and Misty sat on the bed with the television on and waited for Brock and Tracey to return. Pikachu was sitting on the floor playing with some kind of thing that he had found lying around somewhere.  
  
"I just thought that it's probably going to be very hard on Brock and Tracey when they have to part company with Angelica and Carla in the morning because they have become so attached to them. I can't imagine having to be apart from you for even a second." Ash said quietly.  
  
"After what happened the other night you won't have to. But I agree that this is more than likely going to be hard on Brock and Tracey though. They really have become attached to our new friends. We'll have to help them as much as we can." Misty agreed.  
  
About ten minutes later Brock appeared with Tracey right behind him. Ash and Misty smiled at them sadly and this immediately had their friends momentarily confused. It was then that they looked at each other and decided that they should share with their friends the information that they had confided in each other on the way back down to the room. But first the two had to get Ash and Misty to admit that was what they were thinking.  
  
"Why do you two look so sad?" Tracey asked, knowing the answer as well as he knew his own name.  
  
"Well we were just thinking about how hard it is going to be for you and Brock to leave Carla and Angelica behind when we disembark tomorrow." Ash answered finally.  
  
"Actually, to be perfectly honest, we aren't gong to have to." Brock smiled.  
  
"What!" Ash and Misty exclaimed together.  
  
"Well, when I left for those few moments at the pool this morning to take care of something I called Professor Oak to ask him if it was okay for me to invite Carla to come and help us out and stay at the lab and he gladly gave me that permission. Then a few minutes later when I took Carla off, I presented the idea to her and she accepted it. I just found out earlier that when Brock and Angelica disappeared for that time when we were at the party, he invited her to come back with him to stay at the gym and help him out there. She accepted his invitation as well so they are both flying back with us." Tracey answered happily.  
  
"Well this has been a vacation full of wonderful surprises. That is absolutely wonderful news." Misty beamed as she leaned her head on Ash's shoulder.  
  
"Yeah. Something tells me that this flight heading back home is going to be slightly more interesting than the one coming over." Ash paused for a moment and a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Hey, wait a second. How are we going to get Carla and Angelica on the plane with us? They don't have tickets."  
  
"That's not going to be a problem. I called Professor Oak again a few minutes ago and he is taking care of it." Tracey smiled.  
  
"Great! I'm looking forward to this. It'll be really nice to have a couple of other girls to talk to during the time when you and Ash are out of commission." Misty laughed warmly as Tracey's eyes got really wide.  
  
"Oh no. I can't believe I was that stupid. How could I have forgotten about that." Tracey was on the verge of panic.  
  
"What's the matter Tracey? Calm down and tell us." Brock said, still trying to figure out what in the world had just happened.  
  
"Yeah. If you tell us what you're so upset about between the three of us we can probably come up with some kind of a solution." Ash said calmly as he and Misty led Tracey to one of the chairs and helped him to sit.  
  
"It's just that I realized that Carla has no idea of the situation that Ash and I are going to be in tomorrow. I'm such an idiot. How could I forget to tell her something like that? I don't want to scare her but that is probably what is going to end up happening." Tracey moaned as he put his head in his hands.  
  
"First of all Tracey, you are not an idiot. Don't think like that. Secondly this is probably not going to be as big of an issue as you're thinking. If it comes down to it and Carla gets worried about you or starts asking questions, Brock and I can always explain the situation to her. We'll simply tell her that you and Ash both have difficulty with being afraid to fly and that Professor Oak worked it out so that you would be sedated during the first part of the flight. I'm sure she'll understand that." Misty said reassuringly, putting a hand on Tracey's shoulder as Brock nodded a silent agreement to what she said.  
  
"Thanks guys. I didn't think of you two being able to explain it to her. I guess I just got too excited too quickly. She probably will understand but I just don't want her to panic about it." Tracey's expression eased a bit and he smiled at his friends.  
  
"Hey, since we all have our things ready to go for tomorrow morning, I think we should all try to get some sleep. The ship docks at 8:30 in the morning so we need to be up and ready by at least 7:00 so we can get our carry on things together and be at the disembarking station in time." Ash pointed out.  
  
"Yeah. I think that Ash has a good point." Brock said from his bunk. "If we stay up much later we're all going to be zombies in the morning."  
  
"Okay. We can talk more in the morning once we've met up with the girls and are waiting to get off. Right now that big midnight snack we had is really starting to catch up with me. I'm totally beat. Goodnight guys." Tracey yawned. He was so tired as he climbed up onto his bed that he could hardly keep his eyes open. Once he was settled in it wasn't long before he had fallen sound asleep.  
  
"I don't know what it is about a big meal that tends to make people so sleepy but whatever it is has gotten to me too. I think I'm going to turn in as well. Goodnight Ash and Misty. See you in the morning." Brock said tiredly before he settled in and drifted off as well.  
  
"You want to know something, Mist? I think that it is the greatest thing in the world to see Brock and Tracey so happy. I can only hope that they are as lucky in their relationships as you and I have been so far in ours." Ash smiled as he relaxed in bed with his fiancé snuggled in his arms.  
  
"I think it's great too. I am so happy for them. It's really sweet the way Tracey was worried about upsetting Carla tomorrow. You can tell that he and Brock both care about her and Angelica so much. It really reminds me of when you and I first got together." Misty whispered.  
  
When she didn't get an answer, Misty glanced over to notice that Ash was sound asleep. She kissed his cheek and held him closer to her. "I love you Ash." Misty whispered as she cuddled up close to him and she too fell asleep. 


	18. Flying Again

Chapter 18: Flying Again  
  
The next morning Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey woke early and rushed around making sure that they weren't leaving anything behind as they got the rest of their things together. As soon as everything was ready the group went up to the upper decks where they would turn in their room keys and where they were going to be meeting up with Carla and Angelica.  
  
After they had turned their keys in Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey walked into the lounge with Pikachu in tow where Carla and Angelica were waiting for them to arrive.  
  
"Good morning everyone." Carla smiled at her new friends as she moved close to Tracey.  
  
"Hi. Have you been waiting long?" Ash returned the greeting cheerfully.  
  
"Not really. We hadn't been here all that long when you guys got here." Angelica answered as she hugged Brock.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, it was their turn to disembark and the six young travelers, along with a carefree Pikachu, got their carry on luggage and maneuvered their way through the large crowd. Soon they were off of the ship and back in the parking lot that they had left seven days before.  
  
* * * * *  
  
It was a tight fit but they managed to get all of six of them into a car that was meant for four people and Tracey took the keys from Brock and squeezed into the driver's seat. After taking a few minutes to get situated they were on their way to the airport.  
  
"I'm really glad that you are coming back with us Carla and Angelica. That way I'll have some girls to talk to as well." Misty smiled.  
  
"I know. It always surprises me that the most sudden things almost always turn out to be the best." Carla agreed.  
  
"Yeah. I couldn't have said it better myself." Angelica laughed.  
  
From the front passenger seat, Carla noticed a distant, far off look in Tracey's eyes and this struck her as being a very odd change from the way he had been less that 24 hours before.  
  
"Hey, Tracey. You seem to be really far away and distant. Is anything wrong?" Carla asked, a little concerned.  
  
"No, hon. Everything's fine. I guess I'm just a little tired. You really shouldn't worry about it." Tracey smiled as he reached over and patted Carla's hand.  
  
"Okay. If you're sure." Carla sighed, purely unconvinced. She didn't notice that, behind her, Ash and Misty gave each other a knowing look as the car pulled into the airport and they went and returned it.  
  
* * * * *  
  
When they got to the gate they were twenty minutes away from boarding time and since they had a light snack before they got off of the S.S. Anne and none of them were hungry, the group decided to just sit around talking until they boarded.  
  
"I can't wait to get back home again! It'll be great to see the look on my mom's face when we tell her that Misty and I got engaged while we were gone." Ash smiled.  
  
"Yeah. I hadn't thought that your mom doesn't know yet." Misty hugged Ash tightly.  
  
"What I can't wait for is to get to see the Pokemon lab and meet Professor Oak. From what I've heard he's very knowledgeable about every type of Pokemon." Carla beamed as she leaned close to Tracey.  
  
"Yep. Professor Oak is a wonderful guy too. I'm sure he'll make you feel right at home and help you get adjusted to everything. I still can't believe that I'm going to get to see you everyday."  
  
"I don't know if Tracey told you this but Professor Oak's place is only about five minutes from where Ash and I live. You and I can hang out together often and maybe sometimes we can all four go out and do things." Misty grinned.  
  
"Oh neat! I think I got the best end of this deal. I get to stay and work with someone I absolutely think the world of." Carla paused for a moment to give Tracey a kiss. "And I have friends living very close by. I couldn't ask for anything better."  
  
"I think you and Tracey both got the best end of that deal." Ash laughed innocently seeing Carla's enthusiasm.  
  
"I'm looking forward to seeing what Brock's gym looks like and meeting all of his brothers and sisters. I hope they like me." Angelica said.  
  
"They are absolutely going to adore you. They'll like you as much as I do because you make me so happy. I think that you are definitely going to be a great help to me as well as great company." Brock smiled, taking Angelica in his arms.  
  
It seemed like no time at all until the plane was only ten minutes away from boarding and it was time for Ash and Tracey to face the inevitable once again. Knowing that Tracey wanted to take his sedative out of Carla's view as to avoid scaring her, Ash thought of a viable excuse to get the two of them away from the group long enough.  
  
"Hey. I'm really kinda thirsty so I think I'm going to go and see if there is a water fountain close." Ash said suddenly as Misty smiled, knowing very well what he was doing.  
  
"I'll go with you, Ash. There's no point in you going off on your own. We won't be very long." Tracey chimed in quickly, getting up and moving in Ash's direction.  
  
"Okay. That's a good idea. Let's go. Come on, Pikachu." Ash let his Pokemon climb onto his shoulder before starting off with Tracey on his heels.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Ash." Tracey smiled as soon as they were out of earshot of the others.  
  
"No problem, Tracey. I understand why you wanted to do this. The only reason I was nervous about this whole thing to begin with was because I was worried about upsetting Misty." Ash confessed as Tracey shook his head and smiled.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A few minutes later, Ash and Tracey were on their way back to the gate to join their friends. After finding some water they had both taken the sedatives while safely out of view. Just then, Tracey realized another potential problem.  
  
"Uh oh. I just thought of something else. Since Carla doesn't have a clue about any of this, I'm going to have to try and act natural in spite of this thing. That'll be the hard part. How in the world am I going to do that?" Tracey sighed.  
  
"Hmm. I hadn't thought about that either. These things really do pack a wallop once they get in your system. Acting natural is going to be tricky when we're on the verge of completely collapsing but I'm sure we'll be able to think of something." Ash scratched his head.  
  
"Wait a second. What do you mean 'we'?" Tracey asked.  
  
"Well I'm going to have to act natural too. If it appears that you're suddenly dead on your feet and I start zoning out too then Carla is bound to get suspicious and upset." Ash was surprised that Tracey hadn't thought of that.  
  
"Rats." Tracey whispered as they approached the others and Ash just laughed at the comment.  
  
* * * * *  
  
When Ash and Tracey arrived back at the gate to rejoin the others, the plane was less than five minutes from boarding. As they sat back down, it became evident that acting natural was going to be harder than they first anticipated. Misty noticed this and tried to create a diversion.  
  
"Hey, do you know what the flight schedule is going back home, Brock?" Misty asked and gave Brock a look that told him to play along.  
  
"Yep. We're on this flight for a day and a half and then we land in Saffron City tomorrow afternoon for a connecting flight which will take us the remaining day and a half flight back to Pewter City." Brock replied.  
  
While all the conversation was going on, Pikachu noticed that something was different about Ash since he and Tracey had come back and this concerned the little Pokemon.  
  
"Pi pikachu, Pikapi?" (Are you okay, Ash?) Pikachu asked quietly as not to draw attention.  
  
"I'm okay, Pikachu. It's just that I am getting incredibly sleepy and it's really hard to act natural but I have to do it for Tracey because I promised." Ash whispered to his Pokemon, drowsiness becoming apparent in his voice now. Pikachu just shook his head and let the subject drop as the announcement came that the plane was boarding.  
  
* * * * *  
  
As they were gathering their things to get on the plane, Carla noticed that Tracey was dragging a bit and this concerned her. It was very unlike him to be so lacking in energy.  
  
"Hey sweetie. Are you sure you're all right? You seem to be dragging a bit." Carla asked with a little concern in her voice.  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine. It's probably all of the action of this trip catching up to me." Tracey said, trying desperately to keep his eyes open.  
  
The more time that passed, the sleepier Tracey felt. Even though he tried hard to stay alert, his eyes began to droop in spite of his efforts. Walking beside him, Carla noticed this and became a little worried but shrugged it off as being nothing.  
  
By the time they found where their seats were, Ash wasn't in much better shape than Tracey was. Ash was so drowsy that he, like Tracey, was coming close to falling asleep on his feet. Once they got to their seats the group had to try to get a comfortable arrangement in order. Obviously Ash and Tracey were on the ends of the row, Carla was next to Tracey and Brock was sandwiched between her and Angelica, Misty was on Angelica's right with Ash beside her. As soon as they all got situated Tracey stretched out and rested his head in Carla's lap while Ash settled into Misty's arms and both closed their heavy eyes and within moments they were overcome by a very deep sleep.  
  
At this point, Carla began to get a little bit afraid because she had no idea what was going on. One minute Tracey seemed fine to her and the next he was suddenly sound asleep and this frightened Carla. She looked around and saw that Ash was in the same condition and decided to say something.  
  
"Hey, Misty. You don't happen to know what's wrong with Tracey, do you? I really don't understand. He seemed fine just a few minutes ago and now he's so still." Carla didn't attempt to disguise the fear in her voice.  
  
"Yeah. I do know. Tracey was afraid this was going to happen. He didn't want to frighten you. The reason that Tracey is sleeping so heavily is that he and Ash have both been sedated." Misty said reassuringly as Brock took note of the conversation.  
  
"What on Earth for? I don't understand."  
  
"They were sedated because they are both afraid to fly. Before we left they were both given some sedatives to make them sleep during the takeoff." Misty told her friend quietly.  
  
"Can you tell me why Tracey would be afraid to fly?" Carla noticed the fear in Misty's eyes. "Brock? Misty? Someone please tell me if you can."  
  
"Well, I wasn't with them at the time because this apparently stemmed from something that happened while they were traveling in the Orange Islands with Tracey so Misty is really the only one who could tell you anything about it." Brock spoke up as Angelica looked on curiously.  
  
"Please tell me, Misty. I would like to know what got Tracey like this." Carla pleaded.  
  
Misty glanced at Ash sleeping deeply in her arms and sighed. As she began to recount the tale of that time years ago that still gave Ash occasional nightmares she felt Brock place an encouraging hand on her shoulder. Misty then told the three that horrific tale of the day that she had tried so hard to forget. When she finished, her friends were all staring at her in shock as the plane's engines roared to life.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Misty. I had no right to make you go back and relive all that. I never should have asked." Carla gasped as she leaned over Brock and Angelica to touch Misty's arm.  
  
"It's okay. How were you supposed to know? I'm not angry with you. Anyway, I just felt the engines start up so we're about to take off so why don't you take these and make sure that Tracey is comfortable." Misty handed a blanket to Carla along with one of the pillows she had brought with her as she wiped a tear from the corner her eye. Then she placed a blanket over Ash and gave him a gentle kiss.  
  
At the same time, Carla was tending to Tracey. She slipped the pillow under his head carefully and laid the blanket over him. Just then the plane accelerated down the runway and took to the air.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"I can't believe what Misty said before. She never told me that before though I can definitely see why. It seems pretty hard for her to talk about." Brock whispered to Angelica.  
  
"Yeah. I know. I couldn't imagine being in her place. If something ever happened to us like that I don't know what I'd do." Angelica laid her head on Brock's shoulder and felt his arms around her.  
  
"Hey. You don't have to worry about that sweetheart. I'm always going to be here for you just like Ash is always going to be there for Misty and Carla will always have Tracey there for her. You are my world and I am never going to leave you."  
  
"I hope so, Brock. I really hope so." Angelica said.  
  
"I give you my word on it." Brock promised as he gave his girlfriend a soft kiss.  
  
* * * * *  
  
After the plane took to the air, Carla sat there for several minutes with Tracey sleeping peacefully in her lap, looking down at him while he rested and realized again how much he meant to her. She reached down and brushed a stray piece of hair away from his face with her finger and kissed his cheek. Suddenly a voice startled Carla out of her thoughts.  
  
"Hey. Where were you just now? You were obviously lost in thought about something." Misty spoke softly.  
  
"What? Oh, sorry, Misty. You startled me a little bit. I was just thinking about how much Tracey means to me and how special he has become to me in the few days we have been building the start of our relationship." Carla practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of her friend's voice.  
  
"Do you mind if I ask what it was that made you start thinking about this?" Misty wondered.  
  
"I was watching Tracey sleep a few minutes ago. That's actually why you startled me. He is so very peaceful while he sleeps and he seems so calm. His face is blank and he looks very beautiful. How could I not care about Tracey? He's such a loving guy and it's obvious that his friends mean a lot to him. That's just one of the many things that we have in common. I have the feeling that once I begin staying at the lab and working with Tracey then we're only going to get closer." Carla smiled as Misty just shook her head and smiled in return.  
  
Carla then turned back to Tracey and pulled him closer to her. In response he smiled in his sleep and settled deeper into her lap. She looked down on him with warmth in her eyes as she pulled the blanket up closer to his head. It was then that she realized what it was that she felt for Tracey. It was love. She loved Tracey with all of her heart and she knew that it was a love that she had never felt before.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Misty sat staring off into space. She was thinking about the things that Carla had told her. Then she looked at Ash sleeping in her arms and realized that she had said those exact same sorts of things when she first discovered her love for Ash. This realization brought a smile to Misty's lips.  
  
"I think we have some new lovebirds on our hands, honey. I saw earlier that Carla really does love Tracey. She didn't come out and tell me but we were talking and I saw it in her eyes. I just hope that they'll be as happy as we are. I love you so much, Ash." Misty whispered to her sleeping fiancé as she smoothed his hair and kissed his head, knowing fully well that he hadn't heard her. She loved him more than life itself and she always would.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Brock kept holding Angelica in his arms for a long time. She had seemed so afraid earlier after hearing Misty's story that he had been reluctant to let her go. Angelica looked up at Brock and smiled. She thought it would be wonderful just to stay here in his arms forever.  
  
"I never want you to stop holding me. When I'm in your arms, anything that I happen to fear doesn't seem so frightening anymore. I don't remember when I've felt this safe around a man." Angelica smiled.  
  
"Well I'm glad that I make you feel safe. I plan on keeping you safe for as long as you'll let me. All I know is that you are number one in my book and I want you to remember that." Brock was moved to know that Angelica felt so safe with him.  
  
"I will always remember. Just like I will always care for you." Angelica whispered as Brock pulled her into a kiss that left her breathless.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Thirty minutes later, Carla had gotten wrapped up in a mystery novel that she was reading and taking advantage of the quiet around her when a quiet groan drew her attention. She put the book away and looked down to see Tracey beginning to slowly stir awake. He opened his eyes and smiled up at Carla.  
  
"Hey there." Carla greeted him happily.  
  
"Hey. I can't believe that this is actually happening. It seems like a dream. If I am dreaming I don't ever want anyone to wake me because it is a beautiful dream." Tracey said as he blinked to allow his eyes to get used to the light.  
  
Carla laughed a little at this. "Of course you're not dreaming. This is perfectly real, silly."  
  
"I know it's real. I was just joking. This is a real dream come true to have you here with me though." Tracey rolled his eyes as he sat up and gave Carla a very big hug.  
  
* * * * *  
  
At the same time, Misty was trying to figure out a way to wake Ash. Before she did this she took another look at Ash resting in her arms. He was sleeping so peacefully that she almost changed her mind and considered letting Ash awaken on his own. But she decided that she needed to at least try because they had found out that they were going to be served dinner soon and Ash needed to eat something. So Misty bent down and gently kissed Ash's lips and, as she did, his eyes slowly fluttered open as he returned her kiss.  
  
"Welcome back, hon. How are you feeling?" Misty asked warmly.  
  
"I'm still a little bit sleepy. Why did you have to wake me?" Ash yawned.  
  
"I actually almost reconsidered because you seemed so very peaceful but the reason I woke you is because dinner is going to be served soon and I thought it would do you good to eat something because none of us have had much to eat today." Misty smiled, pulling Ash into a hug.  
  
"Well, I guess that sounds like a good reason because I am pretty hungry. Another good thing is that if I did have to wake up it was the best way to do it with a kiss from you and then to open my eyes to see your beautiful face. I'll never get tired of that." Ash grinned and gave Misty a kiss.  
  
Ash and Misty sat together looking at their four other friends looking very happy together and it made both of them smile. As Ash became more awake he remembered what had happened back at the airport and his smile faded. Misty noticed this and instantly got slightly concerned.  
  
"What's wrong, Ash? Is something on your mind?"  
  
"I just thought of something. Did you end up telling Carla about our situation? How did she handle it?" Ash asked worriedly.  
  
"Yes, I did tell her. She handled it pretty well but she also asked why Tracey was afraid to fly so I had to tell her. Luckily I had Brock for support otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get the story out." Misty's voice was a little shaky.  
  
Ash turned to Misty and gathered her into his arms and held her close. "I am so sorry, Mist. I know there wasn't anything I could do but still I feel bad that I wasn't able to be there for you as you had to relive that. I know how hard you have tried to forget that day."  
  
"It's my fault, Ash. I was the one who pressured her to tell me." Carla's voice caused the couple to look up.  
  
"No, it wasn't your fault, sweetheart. If our places were switched I would have pressed Misty to tell me the facts. Nobody is to blame for that." Tracey said softly.  
  
"Yeah. Tracey's right. There's no possible way that you could have known about what happened years before we even knew you. You deserved to have answers and for obvious reasons Tracey and I couldn't give you those answers so it was only natural that you would turn to Misty. It may have shaken her up but I wouldn't worry. My fiancé is one tough woman." Ash supported Tracey's comment totally and completely.  
  
"The guys are right. I really don't like to see you beating yourself up over this. If I didn't know why Ash was scared to fly and you did then I would give anything to know why. You shouldn't feel bad." Misty smiled, her voice reassuring.  
  
"Thanks guys. I really needed that reassurance. I appreciate it." Carla whispered as the flight attendant and asked what they wanted for dinner.  
  
Soon they had finished eating and sat talking about the highlights of their trip. Tracey and Brock looked happier than Ash and Misty had ever seen them as they sat there with their new female companions. Before they knew it the flight attendant came back around and gave them headphones to watch the in flight movie. As they all sat there together watching the movie, the couples all in each other's arms, there was definitely something magical in the air.  
  
* * * * *  
  
As he was watching the movie with Misty, Ash realized just how much he truly loved her. Just then he found himself thinking about what their wedding should be like. A few minutes later, Misty's voice brought Ash out of his daydream.  
  
"Hey, Ash. Earth to Ash. What are you thinking about?" Misty asked in a whisper.  
  
"Actually I'm sure you'll like what I was thinking about. I was picturing our wedding and what it should be like. It was a very nice thought." Ash smiled as he tried in vain to hide a small yawn with the back of his hand.  
  
"You okay? You seem kind of sleepy. Why don't you rest for a while." Misty pulled Ash closer to her and hugged him.  
  
"Yeah. That does sound good. I've been sort of tired ever since I woke up earlier." Ash muttered as he closed his eyes. Misty kissed him gently and stroked his hair as he slipped off to sleep. Then she turned her attention back to the screen in front of her.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Brock and Angelica were paying hardly any attention to the movie because they were so lost in each other's arms. Brock could hardly believe that Angelica was actually his girlfriend and that this beautiful angel was actually traveling back with him. He just sat there staring at her for the longest time and realizing how beautiful she was. Angelica was just happy to be near Brock because she knew that he was everything that she had ever hoped for.  
  
Brock was so relaxed in Angelica's presence that, at the late hour, he was almost falling asleep. His girlfriend noticed this and pulled him close and hugged him tighter.  
  
"You're tired, aren't you?" Angelica pressed.  
  
"Yeah, a little. What time is it?" Brock yawned.  
  
"It's 10:30." Angelica let Brock lean his head on her shoulder.  
  
"Oh. No wonder I'm sleepy. The problem is that I don't want to be apart from you." Brock looked at her tiredly.  
  
"Don't worry about that. Why don't you just get some sleep because you seem like you need it? I promise that I'll be here when you wake up. Here, you can use me as a pillow." Angelica whispered soothingly.  
  
"Well, I don't think I'm ready to sleep yet but using you as a pillow sounds like a pretty good idea." Brock smiled.  
  
Angelica held Brock close as he once again put his head on her shoulder. After a while, the exhaustion that Brock had been trying to ignore was beginning to catch up to him and he found himself becoming very drowsy. A few minutes later Brock's eyes began to close and before he knew it he had nodded off with his head resting on Angelica's shoulder.  
  
It wasn't long before Angelica noticed that Brock was unusually quiet. She looked over and smiled when she saw that he had fallen asleep on her shoulder.  
  
* * * * *  
  
When the movie was over it was after midnight. Carla looked around and noticed that her four new friends were all locked in sleep. Then to her surprise she noticed that Tracey was still wide awake. Carla turned to him and put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"You're still awake. It's after midnight, what's wrong? Can't you sleep?" Carla whispered.  
  
"No. I'm just a little stiff. I think it's from when we were playing chicken on the ship the day before you and I met. I let Brock use me as a base and when Misty caught him off guard he fell over my head. It really gave my neck and my shoulders an abrupt stretch and it's been stiff ever since but now it seems a lot worse than before. It can get a little hard to sleep with something like that." Tracey said quietly, tilting his head in small circles.  
  
"Well no wonder you seemed tense. I think that if I could help you get rid of some of that tension then it might help you get to sleep." Carla smiled softly.  
  
"I like that idea but I don't understand how you could do that. I don't think anything can get rid of this stiffness I'm dealing with." Tracey said wearily. He was tired but every time he had started to drift off, the pain from his stiff muscles woke him again.  
  
"I happen to know something that I think might work. Come here." Carla pulled Tracey against her. "Just try to relax the best you can."  
  
Then Carla laid her hands on Tracey's shoulders and began to give him a shoulder massage to work the tension out of his muscles. After a few minutes, Tracey began to feel his tense muscles start to relax and he closed his eyes.  
  
"Are you feeling any better?" Carla whispered.  
  
"Yeah. The stiffness is totally gone. Where did you learn to do that?" Tracey muttered. He was beginning to feel very relaxed.  
  
"I really don't know. It's something I just picked up from somewhere. Right now, though, I think you need to rest. So why don't you close your eyes and try to get some sleep." Carla whispered soothingly as she continued to massage Tracey's shoulders.  
  
"That's no problem now. You've helped me relax so much that I'm almost asleep already. Goodnight, Carla. I'll see you in the morning, hon." Tracey whispered sleepily. Then he closed his eyes again and let Carla ease him into a relaxing sleep.  
  
Carla looked down at Tracey and smiled. She had been able to ease his tension and now he was sleeping soundly. She carefully picked up the blanket and placed it over Tracey and sat smiling down at him. The found herself thinking again how peaceful he looked as he slept. His face was calm and expressionless and his lips were slightly parted with his slow, deep breathing. A few moments later, Carla decided it was time for her to get some sleep as well. So after a quick glance at Tracey, still sleeping peacefully in her lap she leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. She fell asleep thinking about the newfound love that she had for Tracey. 


	19. Past Terrors and Late Night Talks

Chapter 19: Past Terrors and Late Night Talks  
  
Now, it was Tracey's turn to dream. His was the same scene back in the Orange Islands but, as many times in the past, it was slightly different. This dream was based on Tracey's deepest hidden fears.  
  
He was standing with Misty and their new friend Melody watching Ash and Pikachu soar through the air on Lugia on their way back to the island from the Ice Island with the three legendary Pokemon flying around them launching violent attacks at Lugia. Tracey held his breath as he watched this terrifying scene, knowing all too well what could happen if Lugia was hit. Then his worst fears were realized.  
  
Lugia took a direct hit and went plummeting into the freezing water taking Ash and Pikachu with him. Tracey closed his eyes as soon as Lugia broke through the ice. Misty and Melody both screamed as they too witnessed the terrifying scene unfold. As soon as the initial shock worn off Misty and Melody, after a slight argument, decided that Misty would be the one to go and look for Ash and Pikachu while Tracey stayed behind with Melody waiting to pull them in once Misty found Ash. As Misty dove into the freezing ocean Tracey was completely frozen with fear.  
  
Once Misty located Ash and Pikachu, Tracey felt a violent tug on the rope he was holding that almost pulled it out of his hands he pulled with all of his strength to bring them back to shore. When they were successfully back to the shore, Tracey helped Misty get Ash onto the land while Pikachu ran up after him. It terrified them when they realized that Ash wasn't breathing.  
  
On the island, Misty was trying to get Ash to start breathing on his own. Tracey was checking Ash's pulse with trembling hands and was relieved to find one. After a few minutes Ash opened his eyes and tried to stand up. He insisted on being able to stumble up to the platform where he had to place the sphere. With a considerable amount of help he made it and placed the sphere into its socket. Ash then immediately collapsed from the effort. Melody screamed as Misty and Tracey instantly rushed to check on Ash's condition. Tracey was horrified to discover that Ash's pulse was incredibly weak and fading rapidly. He and Misty tried everything that they could think of but sadly nothing worked. Ash's pulse continued to weaken until it eventually stopped and he was gone. Misty burst into tears as Tracey pulled her close to him and held her. As he looked down at the motionless body of his friend, Tracey began shedding his own tears as he let out an agonized scream that echoed in his ears.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"No!" Tracey's cry was loud enough to wake Carla and she looked at him confused.  
  
"Tracey? Hon, what is it? Are you all right?" Carla whispered.  
  
"Huh? Oh. It was just a dream. Where's Ash?" Tracey managed to say.  
  
"What kind of question is that? Ash is right over there, asleep. What happened, Tracey? What in the world has you so freaked out?" Carla pulled Tracey into her arms and held him close.  
  
"Oh. I just had a terrifying nightmare." Tracey whispered shakily.  
  
"I figured that when you cried out. Do you think you can tell me about it? I'd like to try to help."  
  
"I dreamed about the time that Misty told you about earlier today. The only thing was that in my dream things didn't turn out the same way they did back then. In my dream Ash didn't survive and I lost one of my best friends. It was the most terrible nightmare I have had in a while. I'm still shaking. I'll probably need to get a little help from one of my Pokemon to get back to sleep. I hate having to wake my Pokemon at this time of night." Tracey sighed a little reluctantly.  
  
"It was just a dream and its over now. You may not have to wake your Pokemon. If you'll let me, there's something I'd like to try first. Is that okay?" Carla asked as Tracey nodded. "All right. Just lie back down."  
  
"Sure." Tracey said.  
  
Carla then began to lightly massage Tracey's temples in an attempt to help him relax. Tracey closed his eyes as his trembling stopped. A few minutes later his breathing slowed as he slipped off to sleep. Carla sat there with him for a few moments and then she leaned back against the seat and went back to sleep as well.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Thirty minutes later, Angelica woke up sweating. She was very frightened but she tried to keep her fear in check so that she wouldn't disturb Brock who was sleeping in her arms. Angelica just sat there for a moment and pondered on what it was that had awakened her. Soon a quiet voice brought her out of her thoughts and Angelica was afraid that she had awakened Brock. But this voice wasn't Brock's.  
  
"Are you okay, Angelica? You seem like you have a lot on your mind. Would you like to talk about it?" Misty asked in a soft voice.  
  
"Huh? Oh, Misty. Well you were right that I do have some things on my mind. But it's something from the past that has taken me a long time to bury. I really don't think I should talk about it and drudge up old pain." Angelica whispered, frightened.  
  
"I know what it's like to have things inside that you want to keep hidden because I had one of such things a few months ago before we came on this trip. I let it keep eating away at me until the point where it almost destroyed me. If I can do anything to help you with whatever burden you're bearing, please tell me. I don't want to see the same thing happen to you that almost happened to me." Misty placed a hand on Angelica's arm.  
  
"I think you're right. But before I tell you anything, Misty, I need you to promise me that whatever I might say will remain just between the two of us." Angelica said seriously.  
  
"I will never speak a word of what you tell me to any other person. You have my solemn word on it. I am a woman of my word and when I give someone my word I keep it."  
  
"Thanks Misty. I believe you and I know I can trust you. I'll try to tell you what it was that I was thinking earlier." Angelica smiled a little.  
  
"Go on." Misty urged lightly.  
  
"Well earlier Brock and I were talking and I told him that it was a long time since I've felt so safe around a man as I do when I'm around him. I honestly get the feeling that he isn't going to harm me in any way. Unfortunately I haven't always been so safe around men." Angelica paused as her breath caught in her throat.  
  
"Why did you feel unsafe or threatened around men. Did something happen before you met Brock?" Misty coaxed her.  
  
Angelica sighed heavily. "That's the hard part. I had a boyfriend a few years back that treated me terribly. No matter what I did there was absolutely no pleasing him. He expected me to be more or less his slave and he never let me go out or have any friends. The worst was the physical abuse. He beat me everyday. What ended the relationship was when he caused me to have a miscarriage with the violent abuse."  
  
"What!" Misty gasped.  
  
"Well about two and a half years into the relationship I found out I was pregnant with his child. I was really thrilled because I was really hoping that a baby would really change his violent behavior. But I was really wrong about that. One day he came home and was very upset because I was tired and lying down upstairs and didn't have his dinner on the table when he got there. He knew I was three months pregnant but that didn't matter to him. He grabbed me by my hair and threw me down a flight of stairs. The only reason I lived was because my neighbors heard the fighting and called the police. I was taken to the hospital and even though the doctor saved my life it was too late to save my unborn child and I miscarried. Then I moved to a new apartment that was right down the street from my sister's house and tried to get on with my life. The guy who did that to me was arrested that night and sent to prison and will be there for the rest of his life. He can never get out. It has taken me over a year to try to block out that memory and I wasn't able to get close to a man in any way for fear of being hurt again. I actually came on the S.S. Anne as part of the healing process for myself and I was very surprised when I found Brock. Like I said before I feel totally safe with him and I know in my heart that he would never do anything to harm me. I also feel comfortable being friends with Ash and Tracey for the same reason. Now, with talking to you about what happened back then, I think that the healing that I've been looking for is finally complete." Angelica whispered with tears in her eyes.  
  
"No wonder it was so hard for you to trust again. I don't think I would have had the strength to get through something like that. I really envy you. You were right about the fact that none of these guys would ever do anything to cause you any sort of harm whatsoever. I want to let you know again that nothing you have told me will ever go anywhere else. It stays strictly between us." Misty smiled as she gave Angelica a small hug.  
  
"Hmm. Do you realize that it's 6:00? We've been talking for over two hours. Sometimes I wonder where the time goes so fast. It seems like you start doing something and you think it only took you a few minutes but when you look at your watch you notice that an hour or more has passed." Angelica laughed lightly.  
  
"Yeah, I know. I can't believe we've been talking that long. It sure doesn't seem like it. I guess time really does fly." Misty said with a giggle.  
  
Just then a yawn coming from Misty's lap caught the girls' attention as Ash awoke, opening his eyes and looking up at them. As he looked at his girlfriend and one of their new friends, he had a slight hint of amusement on his face.  
  
"Morning ladies. What's up?" Ash yawned giving Misty a kiss.  
  
"Good morning, Ash. Angelica and I weren't doing anything that you would have been interested in. Just a lot of girl talk. Right."  
  
"Yeah. Probably would have bored you." Angelica smiled as she gave Misty an appreciative look.  
  
"Hey, did you sleep well last night? You seemed comfortable." Misty hugged her fiancé to her.  
  
"Yeah. I was very tired and it felt good to get some sleep. You make the best pillow." Ash grinned as Misty wrapped her arms around Ash again and gave her a very long, deep kiss.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Just then Angelica turned her attention from her two lip locked friends as she heard Brock begin to awaken from his sleep. She smiled at him as he sat up and hugged her.  
  
"Good morning, babe. I'm really glad that you're going to be staying with me at the gym. I won't be tired anymore."  
  
"Why's that?" Angelica laughed.  
  
"Well last night when we were watching the movie together it was very relaxing just to be near you and this morning I feel very rested and full of energy. I don't know when I slept so soundly." Brock smiled at her.  
  
"I didn't know I had that kind of effect on you. I guess I'll have to hold you in my arms like that every night."  
  
As Brock hugged Angelica he caught sight of Ash and Misty caught up in a kiss and laughed. "Are those two at it again?"  
  
"Afraid so. They've been like that for about five minutes. I can't believe they haven't run out of breath." Angelica giggled as Ash and Misty looked at them.  
  
"Morning, Brock. What are you guys staring at?" Ash asked when he noticed their friends gawking at them.  
  
"Morning Ash. We were wondering if you guys were ever going to break for air." Brock confessed.  
  
"I guess we really do like to go at it sometimes." Misty laughed as she began blushing.  
  
"Does anyone know when we're changing to the last flight this afternoon." Ash asked, changing the subject.  
  
"If I remember correctly we switch planes at about 2:00 this afternoon. Then we fly all night tonight and most of the day tomorrow and we land back in Pewter City about 7:30 tomorrow evening." Brock told them.  
  
"Good morning. What are you guys talking about?" Carla asked sleepily. She had just awakened and had heard the last part of the conversation.  
  
"Morning, Carla. We were just talking about when we're set to change to our last flight. Landing is at around 2:00 and we'll be back in Pewter City about 7:30 tomorrow evening and it won't take us that long to get back to Pallet from there." Misty smiled.  
  
"Great! I'm really looking forward to seeing Pallet Town. I've heard that it's really nice there."  
  
"Hey, Carla. Is Tracey okay? He's completely zoned out." Ash asked curiously.  
  
"Yeah. He's fine. Last night he woke up and cried out because of a nightmare that he had. I did manage to help him relax to the point where he drifted off again. He was pretty restless for quite a while because I felt him tossing in my lap and I think he eventually wore himself out. I don't think I should disturb him for a while because he really needs to sleep right now." Carla smiled down at Tracey sleeping in her lap and pulled the blanket up closer to his head.  
  
"Maybe that is a good idea. If he gets some sleep now then maybe he won't be wiped out later. We should really try to be quiet so that we don't disturb him." Brock said as the others nodded their agreement.  
  
"I'm really looking forward to getting home again. It'll feel good to be in my own house and sleep in my own bed again. It's going to be slightly different now though as I wasn't engaged to be married when I left two weeks ago." Ash whispered as Misty leaned her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I certainly know that feeling. My brothers and sisters probably miss me very much. I hope they haven't totally destroyed the gym. Between them they've probably driven Onix and Geodude crazy. As soon as I get back I'll need to restore some order to things. Shouldn't take too long though because I'm going to have beautiful lady by my side to help me out." Brock smiled at Angelica and gave her a little kiss.  
  
"I'm really looking forward to it. It'll be nice to meet your family. The only thing that I'll need to worry about is taking care of the lease on my apartment." Angelica smiled back.  
  
"You and I are in the same boat as far as breaking apartment leases. There's bound to be some kind of penalty fees and things like that but in my opinion it's all more than worth it for all we've gained during the course of these last couple of weeks." Carla whispered.  
  
"I couldn't have said it better myself. I would definitely not trade any of what I have now for anything in the world." Angelica quietly agreed as she was pulled into Brock's arms for a big hug.  
  
* * * * *  
  
An hour or so later the announcement came over the intercom that breakfast was going to be served in fifteen minutes. The noise from the speaker was loud enough to wake Tracey. He opened his eyes and blinked sleepily at his friends.  
  
"What's going on?" Tracey yawned.  
  
"Well what woke you was the announcement that breakfast is going to be in fifteen minutes." Ash smiled.  
  
"Yeah. Are you feeling better this morning? After you fell asleep again last night you were tossing restlessly. I didn't wake you before because I figured it would be best for you if I just let you sleep." Carla whispered.  
  
"Thanks. I really did need to sleep. I was restless for a while but then I was able to relax and after that I was pretty comfortable. Thanks for helping me get back to sleep last night. But I'm pretty hungry now." Tracey smiled.  
  
"Well, Trace, you and I are going to have to eat a lot for breakfast so we won't be hungry." Ash pointed out.  
  
"Why do we have to eat a lot? I don't get it. Fill me in here." Tracey asked in confusion.  
  
"Oh, sorry. I forgot that you were still asleep when we were discussing this. We change planes at about 2:00 so if we don't get a lot of food now we'll end up being starving. The reason is because we'll probably still be out when the others get lunch so we're going to have to wait until dinner." Ash explained.  
  
"Oh, right. Good point." Tracey scratched his head in thought.  
  
The six friends sat talking for hours and in what seemed like no time they felt the plane make its final decent into the airport in Saffron City.  
  
A/N: The reason I gave Angelica the tragic past in this story is because though this has never happened to me I have seen it on TV so much that I wanted to raise awareness and so many people read things of FFN that I hope it might help someone. Just wanted to put a little clarification. 


	20. The Final Flight

Chapter 20: The Final Flight  
  
As soon as the plane touched down in Saffron City, the three couples gathered their carry on luggage and moved through the crowd to disembark the plane. After getting off the plane, they had to take a subway like train that took them to the terminal where they would walk to the next gate.  
  
Once they were in the terminal and had passed through airport security, the group found their way to the gate and sat down. Ash and Tracey decided to walk to a little store to get an extra snack to keep themselves from being hungry since it was going to be a while before they were going to be able to eat again. While they were gone, Misty checked on the arrival of their plane and was told that it had taken off on time and was expected to land in Saffron City half an hour later. Just as she returned to the group, Ash and Tracey were also returning.  
  
"Hey, Mist. Where did you go, pretty lady." Ash smiled as he took her hand.  
  
"I went to check if the plane was going to be on time and they told me that it is supposed to be." Misty smiled back at her fiancé.  
  
"So we are going to be taking off on time, right?" Tracey asked.  
  
"Yeah. In about thirty minutes."  
  
"Since I know about your situation, Tracey, I don't want you to go running off and hiding. I want you to let me be there for you." Carla had come up to them and now wrapped her arms around Tracey's waist as she hugged him.  
  
"I promise that I won't do that this time, love. The only reason I did that the first time around was to avoid upsetting you." Tracey whispered to Carla.  
  
"I understand why you did that and it really means a lot that you would try to protect me. I'm not sure about what I would've done in the same situation." Carla's cheeks reddened slightly as she spoke.  
  
"So have you guys had enough to eat?" Misty asked.  
  
"Yeah. I think so. You know what I feel like right now?" Ash was clearly beginning a joke and hoped someone would play into it.  
  
"I don't know. What do you feel like?" Brock spoke up, walking right into Ash's trap as Angelica just rolled her eyes.  
  
"I feel like an Ursaring getting prepared to go into hibernation." Ash's punch line got a laugh out of most of the group, however it only succeeded in making Brock feel like an idiot.  
  
"Pikachu!" (Sucker!) Pikachu laughed as Brock glared at him.  
  
"Yeah. I feel like that too. If I eat anything else I think I might explode." Tracey agreed.  
  
Just then, Misty looked at her watch and noticed that their flight was going to be boarding in less than fifteen minutes. "Hey guys. The plane's going to board soon. I think that maybe we should start getting ready."  
  
"Okay. Time to face the inevitable for a final time, Tracey. Let's go for it. Bottom's up." Ash smiled.  
  
"Right, Ash." Tracey laughed.  
  
The two friends decided that this time they would make a joke out of their situation so they popped the sedatives into their mouths and after toasting the end of the situation with the water bottles they had, preceded to down half of them in one gulp. Then they stopped guzzling water and burst out laughing.  
  
"Pi pika ka pikachu." (Give me a break.) Pikachu moaned from his perch on Ash's shoulder.  
  
"Why do you guys think that what you did is so funny?" Misty asked.  
  
"I don't know. I guess it just is." Ash smiled.  
  
"Since it's the end of our little ordeal, Ash and I thought it would be cute to make kind of a joke of out it." Tracey laughed.  
  
"Oh brother." Brock sighed as Angelica hugged him.  
  
A few minutes later the announcement came that the plane was boarding. Once the group had their things together and were beginning to board the plane and look for their seats, Ash and Tracey were really feeling the effects of the sedatives they had downed and they were both seriously dragging.  
  
Once they had actually found their row and sat down, Ash and Tracey were very drowsy and having a difficult time staying awake. A few minutes later, the group had gotten settled and Ash and Tracey were both sound asleep in the arms of their girls.  
  
Carla then looked down at Tracey who was sleeping with his head resting in her lap and giggled a little. This immediately struck Misty as strange and she wondered what Carla was laughing about.  
  
"What's so funny, Carla?" Misty whispered.  
  
"It just amazes me how quick that stuff that Tracey took works. Less than five minutes and he looks like he is out for the night. What about Ash?" Carla smiled.  
  
"Ash is completely conked out. I think they'll both sleep for quite some time. I don't think we should disturb them this time around and they'll awaken on their own. But for now we should make sure that they're comfortable." Misty replied as she placed a blanket over Ash.  
  
Carla nodded and placed a blanket over Tracey as well. Then she felt the plane engines begin to roar as they sped down the runway and glided into the air. As soon as the plane was on the way to its cruising altitude, Carla placed a pillow under Tracey's head and gave him a gentle kiss. As Tracey lay sleeping in Carla's lap, the only thing that was going through her mind was the new found love that she felt for him and whether or not she should say something about it.  
  
Just then, Brock's voice broke the silence. "Hey guys. Can you believe that this is actually our last flight and we'll be home tomorrow evening?"  
  
"It's also the last night we're going to have to sleep on a plane. That's one of the really great things." Angelica continued with a smile.  
  
"Yeah. I'm really looking forward to being home again and I know Ash is too. I can't wait to see the expression on his mom's face when we tell her that we got engaged while we were away." Misty grinned.  
  
"Pika chu pi pikachu kachu pika pi." (I'm looking forward to being home too.) Pikachu said happily as he sat on Misty's shoulder, keeping watch over Ash.  
  
"I think it's really going to be interesting getting to meet and work for Professor Oak. From what Tracey has told me about him, he seems to be a pretty great guy. I'm really looking forward to it." Carla said enthusiastically.  
  
"You're looking forward to getting to spend all that time with Tracey too, aren't you?" Brock asked.  
  
"Well, yeah." Carla's face turned red with embarrassment.  
  
"It's nothing to get embarrassed about. I felt the same way when Brock asked me to come back and stay at the gym. I think I know what you're feeling now." Angelica reassured her.  
  
"Maybe. All I know is that what I'm feeling is like nothing I have ever felt before. It's like I'm not sure what to do with it." Carla whispered.  
  
"Hmm. It's like I suspected before." Misty laughed.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Carla was completely flabbergasted at what Misty had said.  
  
"Well yesterday while we were on the first plane when you and I were talking I saw the twinkle in your eyes and I recognized it. It was the same look that Brock and Tracey used to notice in my eyes when I realized that I had feelings for Ash. The thing was that nobody could get me to admit it." Misty smiled as she explained.  
  
"You're good, Misty. We haven't known each other that long but yet you still have me nailed. I do have feelings for Tracey. The relationship that he and I have developed is what I have always dreamed of. I have caught myself a couple of times wondering if it is actually real." Carla laughed.  
  
"I know how that is. I've done that a couple of times myself since yesterday." Angelica grinned as she placed her hand on Brock's arm.  
  
"Well, I can assure both of you that this is very real. You're not the only ones who wonder about the reality of this whole thing. I mean, think about it from mine and Tracey's point of view for a second. When we began this vacation we were both single guys looking for the right woman, though neither expecting to find such a thing. Then in the course of a day, everything changed. But I wouldn't have it any other way and I'm sure that, if he were able to right now, Tracey would agree with me." Brock couldn't help but smile at his own comment because it made the girls smile.  
  
Just then the flight attendant came and took their lunch orders. Apparently they had been so wrapped up in their conversation that they had missed the announcement. Misty began to feel a little guilty that Ash was missing lunch but he and Tracey would be awake for dinner and she knew that they had gotten plenty to eat before they boarded the plane.  
  
"Hey, Misty. Brock, Carla and I are going to play cards. Wanna play too?" Angelica's question jolted Misty out of her thoughts.  
  
"Yeah, sure. What do you guys want to play?" Misty asked.  
  
"Does 'Go Fish' sound good to you?" Brock answered.  
  
"Great. Let's play."  
  
For the next hour, Misty, Brock, Angelica and Carla played Go Fish and several other card games and were having a great time with it, not really caring who won. Then suddenly a voice broke the quiet and totally disrupted the game that they were playing.  
  
"So who's winning? What is that you guys are playing anyway?" Ash asked sleepily as he awakened and noticed that his friends were playing cards.  
  
"Hey, Ash. We're playing War and at the moment I think Misty is in the lead." Brock smiled.  
  
"Oh cool. Can I play?"  
  
"We're in the middle of a game right now, hon. But we can deal you in on the next hand." Misty leaned over and gave Ash a kiss.  
  
"Hey. Deal me in too." Tracey yawned as he was greeted by a sweet kiss from Carla.  
  
After Angelica won the game of war that they were playing, they dealt Ash and Tracey into the game and the three couples talked, laughed and played cards until it was time for dinner.  
  
When they got their dinner, Ash and Tracey ate like they hadn't had any food in months. This made their friends extremely amused.  
  
"What's so funny?" Ash asked between bites of food.  
  
"Yeah. Why are you guys laughing?" Tracey asked.  
  
"It just seems like you guys haven't eaten in forever." Carla laughed.  
  
After they finished eating, Ash, Misty, Brock, Angelica, Tracey and Carla looked back on their trip over the course of the past two weeks and all that had happened to them.  
  
"When we were walking into the airport to come on vacation I remember that I said this was going to be a great chance to relax. Not only was I right about that but I got the biggest surprise of my life when I found a beautiful woman as well." Brock smiled as he gave Angelica a big hug.  
  
"Well you wouldn't have if I hadn't gotten over my shyness and built up the nerve to come over and say hello to you." Angelica said.  
  
"At least it isn't as unusual as the way Tracey and I met. He and I wouldn't be together and I wouldn't be here right now if I hadn't been so clumsy and tripped over him." Carla grinned.  
  
"I had no idea that when I reached out to catch you I was catching a princess in my arms. But I can tell you one thing. I wouldn't have it any other way." Tracey laughed as he leaned over to kiss Carla's cheek.  
  
"Misty and I have had a great change as well. We were dating when we left home to take a vacation and then I proposed to Misty and she accepted so we are lucky enough to be coming back engaged." Ash pointed out happily.  
  
"That was the moment when all of my dreams came true and the thing is that it's only going to keep getting better. I never thought that things would get this good." Misty laid her head on Ash's shoulder as he held her close.  
  
"Hey, what time is it?" Brock asked suddenly.  
  
"It's about 9:30. Why? Do you have somewhere to be?" Ash retorted with a chuckle.  
  
"No, wise guy. I just wondered." Brock smiled.  
  
"Hey. Why don't we play cards again? I'll deal this time." Misty spoke up.  
  
In the middle of approximately the fourth game of war, a noise drew their attention. There was a woman going down the aisle trying to catch her Pokemon that had gotten loose.  
  
"Jiggly!" The escaped Jigglypuff cried in excitement at having been able to escape from her Pokeball. This elicited a gasp of dread from everyone on the plane.  
  
"Oh no. Come back here Jigglypuff!" The woman called as she raced after her Pokemon.  
  
Then the occurrence that was feared by all of the passengers happened. The woman wasn't able to do anything about it in time. The Jigglypuff began to sing its beautiful song and lulled all of those on the plane into a blissful slumber while the pilots continued working in the soundproof cockpit, unaware of what had taken place in the cabin behind them.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The next morning Ash was the first of the six friends to awaken and as he opened his eyes it came back to him what had happened earlier and he remembered everything.  
  
"Where did that Jigglypuff come from? Luckily the cockpits are made soundproof on these planes because otherwise we'd have been in a whole lot of trouble." Ash thought as he heard Misty waking up next to him.  
  
"What happened?" Misty yawned sleepily.  
  
"Well, last night a Jigglypuff got loose and before the trainer could do anything, her Jigglypuff started singing and put everyone to sleep." Ash explained.  
  
"If Jigglypuff sang everybody to sleep then why are we still in the air?" Misty didn't know how anyone could be immune to Jigglypuff's song.  
  
"There's no doubt in my mind that if these planes didn't have soundproof cockpits then we wouldn't be." Ash whispered.  
  
"I wonder where that Jigglypuff went to. Did her trainer catch her or what?" Misty was beginning to sound scared.  
  
"She must have because I don't see the Jigglypuff anywhere. I wouldn't worry about it." Ash tried to reassure Misty. What they didn't know was that the Jigglypuff's trainer had barely managed to get her back into her Pokeball right after she had finished singing.  
  
"I know I shouldn't worry but I can't help but think of what could have happened. It really scares me, Ash." Misty leaned into Ash's arms and buried her face into his shoulder.  
  
"It's okay to be afraid. But nothing bad is ever going to happen to you as long as I'm around because I am always going to protect you from harm." Ash whispered to his fiancé as he put his arms around her and held her close.  
  
Just then Brock and Tracey both awakened and looked at each other and then at their friends. It took a few moments before either of them spoke.  
  
"What hit me?" Tracey groaned.  
  
"Hey, is Misty okay?" Brock asked when he saw the look in Misty's eyes.  
  
"She's fine. She just got a little spooked by something, that's all." Ash said quietly as he continued to hold Misty in his arms.  
  
Just then they got their reassurance that everything was okay when a flight attendant came over to them and asked if they would like something for breakfast. After waking Carla and Angelica, the friends got some food and ate a nice breakfast.  
  
"What in the world happened last night?" Angelica asked as they were having their breakfast.  
  
"Well, a Jigglypuff got away from her trainer last night and put on a little concert that put all of the passengers to sleep." Brock explained quickly.  
  
"I remember hearing that all planes were built with soundproof cockpits and I never really appreciated that before but I sure do now." Angelica whispered as soon as the reality of what Brock had just said sunk in. Carla, on the other hand, was too nervous to say anything and felt safe just to have Tracey hold her.  
  
* * * * *  
  
After taking a little time to recover from the shock of what had happened the night before, the three couples talked about their time and adventures on board the S.S. Anne over the past week.  
  
"I loved everything over the course of the trip but one of my favorites was the night that you guys became part of the hypnotist show as a surprise for us. That was one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen in my life." Angelica laughed.  
  
"The best part of the whole trip for me was that early dawn morning on deck overlooking the ocean. The morning that you and I met." Brock was smiling bigger than any of his friends had ever seen before.  
  
"My favorite thing, other than the day I met Tracey of course, was that night after we came back from the show and all when Tracey and I were relaxing up on deck together. I remember that he was so tired after everything that had gone on that day so we went down to my room to watch some television. Tracey tried so hard to keep himself awake that night but after a while his exhaustion caught up to him and he ended up falling asleep in my arms." Carla looked at Tracey and beamed.  
  
"Hey! I was gonna say that. No fair." Tracey whined playfully as he kissed Carla. "But that's okay because I have another one."  
  
"My favorite memory besides the one Carla took was the day that we were riding the banana boat and Ash lost his grip when we flew over that wave and he did a cartwheel into the water." Tracey laughed.  
  
"Very funny. I'm not going to give the obvious favorite of proposing to Misty because that's a given so I thought of another favorite moment. My other favorite moment was when we were getting settled into our cabin on the very first day and Brock and Tracey were arguing over sleeping arrangements so I let Pikachu use Thundershock to get them to knock it off." Ash stuck his tongue out and grinned.  
  
"Well I did the same thing that Ash did in thinking of a favorite that wasn't the obvious one. The thing that I remember the most was when we went bodysurfing at the beach on the first island and I beat the pants off the guys when I caught a wave all the way to shore." Misty smirked as the guys rolled their eyes at her.  
  
Before the group knew what hit them it was time for lunch and soon they were chowing down on some good food and looking forward to being back at the airport in Vermilion City and just being back on solid ground. After lunch the friends played cards for another hour and a half before the passengers were shown another in flight movie.  
  
When the movie ended, miraculously everyone in the group managed to stay awake during the movie this time, it was 5:30 and they would be landing back in Vermilion City in about two hours.  
  
"I'm sure looking forward to standing on solid ground again. We've been in the air for way too long." Ash said.  
  
"I'll agree with that. It's been fun to fly and sail on vacation but I'll take firm ground any day of the week." Brock agreed.  
  
Then the group began to get their things together and get ready to get off the plane immediately once they landed. By the time they had everything ready it was 6:30 and since Ash had thought to leave his playing cards out, they played cards all the way until the plane began to glide into its final decent to Vermilion City airport. Then the three couples gathered all of their things and Ash placed Pikachu back onto his shoulder as they made their way off of the plane, all of them glad to be so close to being home.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Once they were back in the terminal and had claimed their checked luggage from the carousel, Ash, Misty, Brock, Angelica, Tracey, and Carla walked out into the airport parking lot and squeezed into Ash's car with Ash and Misty in the front and left for the hour long ride to Pewter City Gym where they would drop off Brock and Angelica.  
  
On the ride from the airport there was a lot of chatter and happy conversation about a whole variety of subjects. Ash and Misty were trying to figure out how they were going to break the news to Delia that they had gotten engaged during the two weeks they had been gone.  
  
"I think it would be funny for you guys to play a game of charades and you can act out two people getting engaged and let her guess." Brock suggested.  
  
"That's a good idea but I think that you should just come out and tell her but not immediately. Toy with her a little bit first. You know, like I did with you guys when you wanted me to tell you how Carla and I met." Tracey cut in.  
  
"I agree with you. That is a better idea. What do you girls think?" Brock conceded.  
  
"I like Tracey's approach to it." Carla smiled.  
  
"I do too." Angelica agreed.  
  
"I like that idea as well. We'll try that and just see what happens. Thanks a lot guys." Ash smiled in the rearview mirror at them.  
  
A little while later Ash pulled the car into the gym and they got out to help Brock and Angelica with their bags. As they were getting everything adjusted to get all of the couple's bags out of the car, Brock noticed that Ash was yawning and he seemed very tired from the long drive and this concerned him since they were planning on heading back that night and it was already pushing 9:00 at night.  
  
"Hey, Ash. Are you sure that you'll be okay driving back to Pallet tonight? As it is now it'll be 10:30 or later by the time you guys get back." Brock asked.  
  
"Yeah. I'll be okay. I'm a little tired but not that bad. I can make it back." Ash yawned, fatigue becoming apparent in his voice.  
  
"No you're not okay, Ash. It's obvious that you're worn out. I'm not going to let you leave and try to make an hour and a half drive back tonight and risk having you fall asleep behind the wheel and getting into a bad accident. I have plenty of extra room so you guys are going to stay here at the gym tonight and you can head back in the morning." Brock insisted.  
  
"Pikapichu pi pika, Pikapi." (Brock is right, Ash.) Pikachu agreed.  
  
"Are you sure about this, Brock? We don't want to be a problem for you. I wouldn't have a problem with driving back tonight." Ash asked.  
  
"Yes I'm sure. If I let you leave and something happened to you, I'd feel responsible. Bring you're things inside and we can get settled." Brock insisted again.  
  
"Is that okay with you guys if we do this?" Ash asked the others.  
  
"I think it's a good idea, hon." Misty whispered.  
  
"It's fine with us." Tracey smiled wearily.  
  
"Okay. We'll stay here tonight and get up and head back in the morning." Ash finally agreed mainly because he was too tired to argue the case with Brock anymore.  
  
A few minutes later, the others had gotten their things and they all went into the gym. As soon as they walked in the door all of Brock's brothers and sisters came running up to them. There was so much hollering and screaming that it was deafening as the kids practically smothered them.  
  
"Hi, Brock! Did you have a great trip? Who is the other person with you?" Brock smiled at the barrage of questions coming from his siblings in spite of how tired he was feeling.  
  
"We did have a very good time. I'll have to tell you guys some of the stories tomorrow. The other person with me is my new friend. Her name is Angelica. Actually she's going to be staying here with us to help me out with some things so you can get to know her. Also I have another surprise. Ash, Misty and Tracey are going to stay here with us tonight as well as Tracey's friend Carla." Brock explained, eliciting a symphony of happy shouts and laughter.  
  
Brock walked over to his oldest brother and smiled. "So, how did everything go with the gym battles while I was gone?"  
  
"You'll be very proud of me. I fought very hard and I only gave away two badges. Now I see how you do so well. Onix and Geodude are awesome Pokemon and they worked very well for me."  
  
"You did a very good job. I'm very proud of you. Keep this up and I may have to look for you a Pokemon of your own." Brock grinned as his brother hugged him.  
  
"But now, I think it's time for a young brood to go to bed. It's getting very late." Brock said as he ushered his siblings off to their rooms.  
  
"Okay. Now we can get some rooms for you guys to stay in and settle in. I'm glad you guys agreed to stay here tonight because it makes me feel a lot better."  
  
"Well, to be perfectly honest with you Brock, now that we've gotten settled in here I'm glad we are too. This jet lag is catching up to me and if we'd headed back tonight then we probably would have gotten into trouble and not made it." Ash admitted tiredly as Brock shot him an 'I told you so' grin.  
  
Then they all sat in Brock's living room for a while talking and playing cards. It was a very good way to relax since they had been flying for three days and they all had serious jet lag. Before they knew it, it was 11:00 and the card games had gone from six people to just three. Misty had fallen asleep on Ash's shoulder, Carla had fallen asleep leaning on Tracey and he hadn't been far behind so this left Brock and Angelica playing cards against Ash. After finishing the game that they were playing and waking their sleeping friends, they all went to the bedrooms where they were going to be staying for the night and got ready to go to bed and get some much needed sleep.  
  
* * * * *  
  
In the room where he was getting ready for bed, Tracey was sitting on the edge of the bed thinking when a soft knock on the bedroom door startled him. He got up and answered the door, half expecting Brock to be standing there, and was surprised to see Carla at the door smiling at him.  
  
"Hey. You okay? Is anything wrong?" Tracey was suddenly concerned.  
  
"I couldn't sleep and I was wondering if you'd mind if I chilled here with you for a little while." Carla smiled at him.  
  
"No I don't mind. Come on in, hon." Tracey took her hand and led her into the room, closing the door behind her.  
  
"So, what were you doing before I came knocking on the door and disturbed you. I didn't wake you, did I?" Carla asked timidly.  
  
"Firstly, you didn't wake me because I wasn't sleeping yet. I had just finished changing. Secondly, it will never be disturbing for me to see your pretty face." Tracey sat down on the end of the bed and invited Carla to sit next to him as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug.  
  
Then Tracey and Carla sat together on the bed and turned the television on and found a show to watch. They both found this scenario extremely funny.  
  
"Does something about this seem a little bit familiar to you?" Carla laughed.  
  
"Yeah. It does at that. I hope there's going to be one change. I plan on trying to stay awake and not falling asleep on you this time around." Tracey smiled and blushed a little.  
  
"I know. I'll have to try at that too. I didn't realize that traveling by air could make me feel so tired." Carla said wearily.  
  
"Tell me about it. This jet lag is terrible. It's a really good thing that we decided to stay here with Brock tonight instead of trying to head back. If we're all so beat, Ash would have been totally worn out since he was driving. I think it was best for everyone that we stayed here so we can all get a good night's rest." Tracey remarked tiredly, his voice lined with exhaustion.  
  
A few minutes later, Tracey had stretched out on the bed and Carla had lay down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. At first they were content watching television together but after a while the long flight began weighing heavily on the two and they were so comfortable lying there that it soon became very hard for them to keep the promise they had made to try and stay awake. A few minutes later Tracey looked over at Carla and noticed that she had fallen asleep in his arms with her head on his shoulder. Then Tracey turned his attention back to the television and he was waiting for something to come on so he decided to just close his eyes for a moment but instead the long flight and the ride from the airport finally caught up to him and within minutes he too was sound asleep.  
  
* * * * *  
  
In the room that they were sharing, Ash and Misty were lying in bed talking. They were taking advantage of the time together and the privacy of not having anyone else in the room with them.  
  
"This is great. I think it's nice to have some time for just us. Brock made sure that we had comfortable bedrooms for tonight." Misty whispered.  
  
"Yeah. I'm very comfortable just lying here in your arms and being with you. I still think it's a very good thing that I didn't try to drive us back to Pallet tonight because there's no way I could have possibly made it. When we planned this vacation I hadn't counted on the effects of the different time zones. I'm so beat that I feel like I could sleep for a week straight." Ash said tiredly.  
  
"I know you're tired because after we got off of a three day flight, you drove the hour to get here. We have another hour and a half drive ahead of us tomorrow so you really need to get some sleep so you won't be worn out in the morning. Ash?" Misty didn't get a response and all she heard was the sound of deep breathing so she looked over to notice that Ash's fatigue had gotten the better of him and he had drifted off while she was talking. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Sleep well, love. You've had a very busy day and getting a good night's sleep will do you good."  
  
A few minutes later, Misty turned the light off and got settled in being careful not to disturb Ash. Then she draped her arm over Ash's chest and closed her eyes. She soon fell asleep dreaming of all of the beautiful things that they just been through and the fabulous wedding that she was going to get to start planning.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Brock was in his own room lying on his bed. He was very tired after the day's travel and staying up playing cards. He had just about drifted off to sleep when a head poked through the cracked door, causing him to open his eyes.  
  
"Hey. I didn't wake you up, did I? I wasn't thinking about how late it is." Angelica said guiltily.  
  
"Not really. I'm used to having brothers and sisters coming in here in the middle of the night needing things. You okay? I thought you'd be asleep by now." Brock asked, suddenly becoming a little concerned.  
  
"I couldn't sleep. Can I stay here with you for a little while. I promise that I won't bother you. You can go back to sleep and you won't even know I'm here."  
  
"On the contrary, I like having you in here. You have something about you that is very peaceful and kind of relaxing. Come sit here with me." Brock smiled as he sat down on the bed and made himself comfortable as he waited for Angelica to come and join him, which she did without much hesitation.  
  
"Okay. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll stay here with you for a little while until you drop off again and then I'll head back where I came from." Angelica whispered softly.  
  
"Don't even think about going anywhere. I really don't want you to leave tonight." Brock smiled as he pulled Angelica into his arms and held her close.  
  
Brock then lay back against the pillow and Angelica came and sat beside him. They stayed like that for the longest time simply enjoying each other's company.  
  
"This passing through different time zones deal is absolutely killer. I'll never get used to that part of that part of travel. I don't know when I've been this tired. Now with you here I know I'll sleep well tonight." Brock smiled.  
  
"I've never had this many compliments in my life. Even though I'll probably never get used to that, I'll also never get tired of it." Angelica smiled as Brock leaned against her.  
  
Angelica put her arm around Brock and held him close as she began lightly rubbing his back. Brock was enjoying this and it was also making him extremely drowsy. He tried to keep himself from nodding off because he was afraid that if he fell asleep then Angelica would leave.  
  
"What's on your mind, hon. Aren't you tired?" Angelica was suddenly concerned.  
  
"It's not that at all. Actually right now I'm so sleepy that it's taking everything that I have not to drift away on a peaceful sea of dreams. The only reason I haven't yet is because I don't want you to slip out as soon as I fall asleep. We've only known each other about five or six days and you've got me spoiled already." Brock smiled sleepily.  
  
"Hey, you'd better get used to it because it's probably only going to get worse. But I promise that if you don't want me to leave once you drift off then I won't. You just said that you're really sleepy so why don't you close your eyes and drift on that sea of dreams you were talking about." Angelica whispered as she started rubbing Brock's back again.  
  
This time around, with the assurance that Angelica wasn't going anywhere, it was impossible for Brock to stay awake any longer. The travel from earlier that day was taking its toll on him and having Angelica rubbing his back was just too relaxing. So Brock closed his extremely heavy eyes and slipped into a very restful sleep.  
  
Angelica looked down at Brock and smiled. "I knew that he wasn't going to last much longer. He was simply too exhausted. He'll probably sleep straight through until tomorrow afternoon. It'll do him a lot of good to get a long rest, all of us for that matter. He's so peaceful when he sleeps." Angelica thought.  
  
For some time, Angelica just sat by Brock's side watching him sleep and holding him close. Then she snuggled down next to him and fell asleep with her head resting on his chest.  
  
* * * * *  
  
It was about 1:00 in the morning when Carla woke up and realized that she was still in Tracey's room and she had fallen asleep at his side. She tried to get up off of the bed and head back to the room where she was supposed to be but when she did this she disturbed Tracey who had been asleep and was awakened when she moved.  
  
"What's going on? Please don't leave." Tracey yawned.  
  
"I need to, hon. It's 1:00 and you were sound asleep. I'm really sorry I disturbed you, I was trying to get up and slip out without waking you." Carla apologized.  
  
"No need to. Actually I'm glad you ended up waking me because I really don't want you to leave. You make a much better pillow that any other. Besides, I was so much more comfortable with you beside me." Tracey smiled.  
  
"Well, okay, if you're sure. Come to think of it, I couldn't sleep when I was in my room and when I came in here with you I ended up falling asleep. If you don't want me to leave then I don't think I will." Carla whispered quietly.  
  
"Good. This comfortable bed is very relaxing but I'm awake now. So can I ask you a favor? Could you help relax me a little bit more so I might be able to drop off again?" Tracey asked.  
  
Carla just chucked a little and nodded, knowing what Tracey was getting at. She let Tracey lean against her and she began massaging his shoulders like she had a few days before on the plane. This was exactly what Tracey needed to relax him and moments later his eyes slipped closed and he was once again sleeping comfortably.  
  
A few minutes later, Carla glanced beside her and noticed that Tracey had nodded off again. She settled down next to him and made herself comfortable. Then she closed her eyes and let the sound of Tracey's deep breathing lull her back to sleep.  
  
In that short time, all in the gym was quiet and still as the six friends all slept peacefully, four of them dreaming about their arrival back in Pallet Town the next day. 


	21. Home At Last

Chapter 21: Home At Last  
  
The next morning, as he usually was, Brock was the first to wake. He just lay there for a moment trying to reorient himself after a wonderful night's sleep. Brock realized that he felt extremely rested and ready for the day and it was only when he glanced beside him that he understood why. He saw Angelica sleeping comfortably next to him and he remembered the night before when she had come to him saying she couldn't sleep. He had wanted her to stay with him and tried to stay awake but after Angelica had promised that she wouldn't leave she began rubbing his back and had soon lulled Brock into an extremely deep sleep.  
  
Brock then slid from his bed, being extremely careful not to wake Angelica, and crept out of the room and down the hall into the kitchen. He was planning to make breakfast for everyone. The hardest problem for Brock was trying to keep relatively quiet and not disturb the others because he was used to cooking for his siblings and purposely banging pots and pans around to get them up for school. But this morning, he went about making breakfast with such silence that a pin drop could be heard.  
  
A few minutes later, Brock heard quiet footsteps and felt Angelica wrap her arms around him. He turned around and gave her a kiss and gathered her into his arms and gave her a great hug.  
  
"Good morning, my lovely angel." Brock greeted her with a smile.  
  
"Good morning. What, may I ask, are you doing? One minute I felt you beside me and a few minutes later I woke up and you were gone." Angelica asked.  
  
"Well, I'm making breakfast for all of us. The reason I was gone when you woke up was because I was going to let you sleep for a while. You seemed so comfortable when I left."  
  
"I didn't know you could cook. On top of that you are one of the sweetest, most caring guys that I have ever met. Will I ever stop being amazed by you, Brock?" Angelica laughed.  
  
"There are several interesting things about me that you don't know yet so no I don't think you'll ever have an end to your amazement with me. I'll always try to find a new way to surprise you." Brock teased her.  
  
"Would you mind too much if I helped you to make breakfast?" Angelica asked.  
  
"Of course I don't mind. But you'll have to be quiet though because we need to let the others get some sleep because they have a pretty good drive ahead of them after they leave here and they were all exhausted last night. No need to wake them just yet." Brock whispered.  
  
So Angelica helped Brock make breakfast, neither of them was saying very much. They were just content on enjoying each other's company and they were very quiet so they didn't disturb their friends who were still sleeping down the hall.  
  
* * * * *  
  
About fifteen minutes later Ash was awakened by the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that Misty was already awake and looking at him smiling. He returned her smile and gave her a small kiss.  
  
"Good morning. I thought you'd never wake up." Misty teased playfully.  
  
"What in the world were you doing this whole time?" Ash asked sleepily.  
  
"Actually I wasn't doing much. Just lying here beside you and watching you sleep." Misty confessed.  
  
Upon hearing this Ash just groaned and put the pillow over his head. This really had no effect on anything other than relieving a little embarrassment because Misty simply picked the pillow up and kissed Ash's lips.  
  
"You are so predictable Misty." Ash whispered.  
  
"I know. Thanks for the compliment." Misty giggled. "Anyway, did you sleep well last night? You looked very peaceful."  
  
"Yeah. I slept like a rock last night. I don't think I realized how beat I really was until we went to bed and were resting. Sorry I fell asleep on you while you were talking last night but you have such a relaxing voice that I couldn't keep my eyes open. I don't think I've slept so soundly in a long time." Ash said quietly.  
  
"It's okay. I wasn't offended when you fell asleep on me. I knew that you were worn out after all of our return travel yesterday and then driving all the way here from the airport. I also knew since we're heading home today that you really needed to rest." Misty reassured Ash with a sweet smile before deciding to change the subject. "Hey, do you smell that? Smells like Brock's making some breakfast."  
  
"Yep. It does smell good. Actually that's what woke me up this morning." Ash blushed a little. "Some things never change, do they Mist?"  
  
"Nope. Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we get dressed and go see what Brock's whipping up that smells so good." Misty suggested.  
  
"Sounds good, but there's something else I'd like to do first." Ash smiled.  
  
"What's that, Ash?" Misty's curiosity was peaked.  
  
Instead of answering her question, Ash turned to face Misty, being very careful not to disturb Pikachu who was sleeping at the end of the bed, and leaned in like he intended to kiss her. Then as he went to seemingly put his arms around Misty, Ash sneakily put his plan into action and slid his hands down and started to lightly tickle her ribs. He knew this was one of her worst tickle spots so she wouldn't be able to keep from laughing.  
  
"Hey! Ash, what are you doing? That tickles!" Misty laughed.  
  
"Aren't paybacks horrible, love? I know that your ribs are extremely ticklish and very sensitive so I decided that was my target for your little tickle torture." Ash grinned as he began to tickle up and down Misty's ribs very lightly as to really tickle her.  
  
"Paybacks.. are.. the.. worst!" Misty couldn't believe that Ash was doing this.  
  
As Ash continued to tickle Misty's ribs, even occasionally sneaking a very light tickle under her arms, he spied something that would help him to torture her even more. There was a hole in the side of the pillow he had been sleeping on that was just big enough that he might be able to pull a couple of the feathers out. So he reached over and felt for and grabbed the two biggest feathers and pulled them just into Misty's view and freaked her out.  
  
"Ash. no! What. are. you. going. to. do. with. those. feathers? You. know. I'm. too. ticklish. If. you. tickle. me. with. those. you're. being. cruel." Misty pleaded, trying to buy time against the unbearable tickle torture that she knew was coming.  
  
"Call me cruel then." Ash grinned evilly as he took a feather in each hand and began to tickle Misty's ribs again.  
  
"Oh. You are so very ticklish and these feathers are so soft. I'll bet they tickle so badly when I stroke them slowly down your sides. You probably wish I was still using my fingers. Let's see if I can find some other ticklish spots when I use my little friends." Ash taunted Misty as she wriggled and squirmed trying unsuccessfully to get away from the feathers he was using to torment her with.  
  
Then Ash began exploring with his fingers again trying to narrow down her weakest tickle points. It wasn't long before he found another one on her feet. Misty laughed harder than she ever had before when Ash went for his feathers and began using the soft points to draw on her feet in all sorts of designs, each of them tickling her more than the last.  
  
"I can't believe he's actually using feathers and drawing pictures with them to tickle my feet. This is horrible torture. What he's doing now tickles worse than when he was tickling my ribs." Misty thought. But nothing could prepare her for the intense tickles that were coming up.  
  
As soon as he finished using the feathers to draw on Misty's feet, Ash decided to give her a taste of what she had put him through when she had tickled his feet that one morning on the boat. So he winked at her as he reached one hand up and pulled the toes back on one of Misty's very ticklish feet.  
  
"No! You. can't. tickle. my. toes. with. that! I. won't. be. able. to. stand. it. Please. don't.tickle. my. toes. with. that. feather!" Misty begged as Ash continued to tickle her foot with the feather in his free hand while he held her toes back with the other.  
  
"Why not? If I remember correctly you had a great time tickling my feet the morning by the pool. I don't see what the big deal is." Ash smiled.  
  
"But. I. didn't. tickle. your. toes. with. a. soft. feather. I. know. that. you're. too. ticklish." Misty begged, somehow knowing that she wasn't doing any good.  
  
"I can't give you any points there love, because you wouldn't have hesitated to use a feather to inflict even more tickle torture if you'd had one. I just lucked out." Ash teased.  
  
Then he decided that he wouldn't wait any longer. Ash took one of the feathers that he was using to tickle the soles of Misty's feet while he taunted her and began tickling under her toes very lightly with it. As he had guessed the base of her toes were highly ticklish and since Misty couldn't move her toes to stop the feather's tickle it was driving her out of her mind. Ash also decided to up the ante a little and reach up with a free finger and tickle her toes themselves as he stroked under them with the feather.  
  
"Hmmm. Looks like you're more ticklish than you're letting on. This is very interesting. Your toes are very sensitive but I think that I know one more place that will tickle even worse and is even more ticklish than your feet." Ash taunted as he reached up, grabbing Misty's wrist and pulling her arm up over her head.  
  
"Now, my dear, it's time for you to really laugh. Nobody can stand having their underarms tickled and soft feathers are bound to make it worse." Ash smiled as he took both of the feathers in one hand and began tickling Misty's underarms. "Tickle, tickle, tickle."  
  
It was obvious to Ash that he had found her very weakest point where she couldn't stand to be tickled because her underarms were extremely sensitive and the tickle was intense.  
  
"Ash. stop! I. can't. stand. it. anymore. You. win. My. underarms. are. very. sensitive. I'm. sorry. about. that. thing. on. the.ship." Misty laughed breathlessly as she spied a way out of this. "Pikachu. help!!!"  
  
"Pika, Pikachupi." (Okay, Misty.) Pikachu said as he took aim. "Pi ka CHUUU!" Pikachu cried as he fired a strong jolt of electricity that knocked Ash back against the bed, causing him to stop tickling Misty.  
  
"Pikachu! Why did you do that?" Ash asked, trying to sound angry even though he was extremely amused.  
  
"Pikachupi chu ka pika pi pikachu, Pikapi." (Misty asked for my help first, Ash.) Pikachu answered as he jumped in between Ash and Misty and they cuddled him.  
  
"I'll give you one thing, Ash. You sure did get even with me." Misty laughed as she gave her fiancé a kiss to show she wasn't mad at him.  
  
"Yeah. Well I also got you to apologize which was something that was very welcomed." Ash said. The result he got from this comment was that Misty took her pillow and threw it at his head.  
  
"Hey, why don't we check out what Brock's coming up with in the kitchen now?" Ash asked as he got up off of the bed and began changing clothes.  
  
"Yeah. That does sound like a good idea. I'm starving." Misty smiled as she winked at Ash and went to get dressed as well.  
  
A few minutes later both of them were ready and they walked hand in hand to the kitchen to see what Brock was up to.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Carla sat up and was suddenly frightened as she tried to ascertain just what was going on. Then she realized what it was that had woke her up. Ash and Misty were in the next room making so much noise that it sounded like the wall was going to come crashing down. Just then Carla looked next to her and saw that Tracey was still sleeping peacefully. She rolled her eyes and smiled.  
  
"How in the world can he sleep through that?" Carla thought.  
  
Just then Carla leaned down and kissed Tracey on the cheek. When she did this he stirred and slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. By this time the noise from the room next door had died down and the wall had stopped shaking.  
  
"Good morning, pretty lady." Tracey smiled sleepily.  
  
"Hey. You must have been really exhausted last night. You seemed to be sleeping pretty hard just now." Carla said as she leaned up against him.  
  
"Yeah. I think I was pretty out of it. Why? Did I miss something while I was asleep?" Tracey asked, confused.  
  
"Well. A few minutes ago it sounded like the wall was going to come crashing down on top of us because Ash and Misty were making so much noise." Carla laughed.  
  
"Ugh. I guess it's a good thing I didn't hear it then. I probably would have tried to put a stop to it. What do you think they were doing in there anyway?" Tracey groaned.  
  
"I don't really know but I do know it was loud. It scared me to death. I thought it was an earthquake or something. But right now, judging by what I smell, I would venture a guess that they're going to follow those smells into the kitchen." Carla smiled.  
  
"Yeah. When I was traveling with Ash and Misty, I always knew Ash to think with his stomach. I guess that's one thing about him that will never change in a million years." Tracey laughed.  
  
"Maybe not but my stomach is telling me that it might be a good idea for us to join them. I'm really hungry." Carla said as she took Tracey's hand and helped him to get up off of the bed.  
  
"I agree with you. I'm hungry too and from what Ash and Misty have told me from past experience, Brock can cook up a storm." Tracey agreed, getting ready for breakfast as he was talking.  
  
Soon they were both ready to join their friends and when they left the room Tracey decided to be cute so he picked Carla up in his arms and carried her down the hall into the kitchen.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A few minutes later, Ash and Misty appeared in the kitchen and were greeted by a smile from their friends. As their noses told them, Brock was just finishing preparing a wonderful breakfast with Angelica's help.  
  
"Hey guys. What were you guys doing? Trying to tear my place down. We heard the walls shaking all the way in here." Brock laughed.  
  
"Well, let's just say I got a little bit of payback." Ash grinned as he hugged Misty and Brock rolled his eyes.  
  
In the same moment, they saw Tracey come walking into the kitchen carrying Carla in his arms. Upon seeing this, the four standing in the kitchen began laughing.  
  
"You sure do know how to make an entrance, don't you Tracey?" Ash laughed.  
  
"I guess I do. But at least I didn't give Misty a frightening wake up call by making so much noise that it sounded like the wall was going to collapse on you guys." Tracey countered.  
  
"Well, anyway. Let's quit goofing around and get to some breakfast before it gets cold." Angelica smiled as they all sat down to eat.  
  
After they finished polishing off the delicious breakfast that Brock had made, Ash, Misty, Tracey and Carla gathered their thing and got ready to leave for Pallet Town.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Once they had everything that they had brought inside with them and had said goodbye to their friends, thanking Brock for giving them somewhere to stay the night before, Ash, Misty, Tracey and Carla loaded into Ash's car to make the hour and a half trip back. As they traveled down the road, the four began talking about the previous night and the noisy fun that had been had that morning.  
  
"That sure was nice of Brock to let us stay with him last night. I don't know about you guys, but I feel a lot better after a good rest." Tracey said.  
  
"Yeah. I'm really glad we stayed. I didn't realize how worn out I was until Misty and I went to bed and were just lying there relaxing. I didn't know that driving that short of a distance would make me so tired."  
  
"Maybe it was that on top of the fact that we had a couple of time changes on the way back too." Misty pointed out.  
  
"If I can change the subject, what in the world were you two up to this morning? At first I thought it was an earthquake or something and then I realized that it was you guys making an awful commotion. I never knew two people could make so much noise." Carla inquired with a curious smile.  
  
"Do you want to tell them what was going on?" Ash asked.  
  
"If you think we should, it's okay with me." Misty smiled.  
  
"Okay. Tracey, do you remember that morning on the ship when we went up to the pool and you stayed in the room and went back to sleep? The morning before Misty and I got engaged." Ash asked.  
  
"Yeah. I remember that. I came up to join you later on and you were taking a nap." Tracey recalled.  
  
"Well, that morning before you and Brock met up with us Misty and I were talking about the formal dinner that night. Anyway, I was trying to get her to tell me about her dress for that night and she wanted to keep it a surprise and didn't want me pestering her so she decided to keep me quiet about it and she tickled my feet." Ash explained.  
  
"So when we woke up this morning Ash decided to get even with me for that so he acted like he was going to kiss me but instead he started tickling me. Then he found a couple of feathers from somewhere and started using those. That's why we were making so much noise." Misty smiled.  
  
"Oh. So that's what was going on. I knew something had to have been happening for you to sound like you were bringing the walls down." Carla laughed.  
  
"How in the world did you stop him from doing that?" Tracey remarked.  
  
"Well. Luckily for me, Pikachu was down on the end of the bed and I screamed for his help and he thundershocked Ash and saved me." Misty grinned as she patted Pikachu on the head and gave Ash a kiss.  
  
As they were talking, Ash was so distracted that he almost missed Professor Oak's lab and would have if Misty hadn't alerted him.  
  
* * * * *  
  
When they reached Professor Oak's lab, Ash and Misty helped Tracey and Carla get their things out of the car and walked inside with them to say hello to Professor Oak.  
  
As they walked into the lab, Muk came barreling down the hall and preceded to jump on Tracey happily and he fell to the floor and disappeared under the Pokemon's slimy purple body, causing Carla to scream. Hearing the noise in the hallway, Professor Oak stepped out to see what the noise was all about and smiled as he saw Muk on top of Tracey and Ash and Misty trying to explain the whole situation to a frightened young woman.  
  
"Okay Muk. Get off of Tracey. I know you're happy to see him but crushing him isn't really the way to show it." Professor Oak admonished the Pokemon as it crawled contentedly away down the hall.  
  
"Thanks, Professor. It was really getting hard to breathe under there." Tracey smiled in greeting.  
  
"It's no problem at all, Tracey. I know how Muk is. You remember that I've been crushed by him many times. You must be the young woman that Tracey told me so much about." Professor Oak addressed Carla who had immediately gone to Tracey's side as soon as Muk had gotten off of him.  
  
"Hi. My name is Carla. Tracey has told me nothing but great things about you also." Carla smiled.  
  
"It's nice to meet you, Carla. I'm glad to have you here. Tracey and I have been in the market for some good help for a long time." Professor Oak finished as he turned to the others. "So did you have a nice trip?"  
  
"Yeah. It was great! There were no problems at all with the air situation. I wouldn't mind doing the whole vacation thing again sometime." Ash said.  
  
"You should see the new things that they did to the S.S. Anne. It's absolutely beautiful. We stayed in a very comfortable room. I knew that it had been improved but it was more spectacular than I even expected." Misty smiled.  
  
"A vacation was exactly what I needed. I feel like a totally different person than I was when I left. It felt really good to just get away for a while and be able to relax without having to worry. I really appreciate the opportunity, Professor." Tracey said. "I got a little bonus out of it too."  
  
"Yeah. I still can't believe that this is actually happening. This is way more than I've ever dreamed of." Carla grinned.  
  
"Well, I can certainly understand how you feel. How about Tracey and I show you around a little." Professor Oak smiled. He was beginning to realize what Tracey had told him about Carla.  
  
"Sure. That would be wonderful. I'd love to see this place that I've heard so much about."  
  
"Okay. Let's go. Ash, Misty would you guys like to have something to drink with us." Professor Oak offered.  
  
"No thanks. We really have to get going. After two weeks of being gone my mom is probably pacing holes in the floor wondering where we are." Ash laughed.  
  
"Yeah. You guys have things to do anyway making sure Carla gets settled here. We'll see you guys later, though." Misty smiled as she took Ash by the hand.  
  
"Okay. Tell your mom hello, Ash. See you later." Professor Oak said as Ash and Misty headed out the door.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Once they had arrived back home, Ash and Misty got their luggage and went in the house. They opened the door and were greeted by Mr. Mime.  
  
"Mime, mime mime!" (Hey, they're back!) Mr. Mime shouted excitedly.  
  
"What's wrong, Mimie? Oh my goodness! Hi, honey. Did you and Misty have a good time on your vacation?" Delia said as she came in from the living room and hugged Ash and Misty.  
  
"Yeah, we had a great time, Mom. It was a nice change from the hectic stuff that Misty and I normally do. Actually it felt kind of weird at first to just get to relax but once you got used to it, it was really fantastic. As a matter of fact, Misty and I have a little surprise for you, don't we love." Ash smiled at his mom as he gave Misty a sly little wink.  
  
"A surprise?" Delia asked.  
  
"That's right, Mrs. Ketchum. Or, wait, maybe it might be more appropriate now for me to call you mom, just like Ash does." Misty said as she stepped closer to her fiancé.  
  
"Oh my! Are you two trying to tell me that you got engaged?" Delia exclaimed happily.  
  
"Yep. Misty and I are engaged. I proposed to her on the ship the night that they had the formal dinner. You can see pictures of it when I get my film developed because I had Brock take some." Ash was beaming as he kissed Misty.  
  
"This is a wonderful surprise! Why didn't you tell me you were planning this, honey? My, you picked out a beautiful ring." Delia said as Misty showed her the engagement ring Ash had given her.  
  
"Thanks for the compliment first of all. Second, I didn't tell you what I was planning as a surprise for Misty because I know how you can't seem to keep a secret. I didn't want the surprise spoiled before we even left." Ash laughed.  
  
"Well, I guess I do have a small tendency to spill secrets." Delia blushed.  
  
"The greatest thing about this is now I get to plan the wedding that I've been dreaming of for so long." Misty smiled as she and Ash sat down on the couch to have some lunch and told Delia more about the wonderful time they had on their vacation.  
  
"Oh, by the way, mom, Professor Oak said to tell you hello when we were over there a little while ago." Ash suddenly remembered.  
  
"Okay. Hey, I have a great idea. Why don't we invite him and Tracey to come over for dinner a little later so we can all celebrate." Delia suggested.  
  
"That's a great idea, mom! Do you want us to call them?" Ash offered.  
  
"No, that's okay. You and Misty should get all of your things unpacked and relax for a while. I'll call Professor Oak and then get started on dinner." Delia smiled as she took Mr. Mime and went into the kitchen.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Professor Oak had just finished helping Tracey show Carla around the lab and get her settled when the telephone started ringing.  
  
"Hello." Professor Oak said happily.  
  
"Hi, Sam! How are you?" Delia asked.  
  
"I'm great, Delia. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"  
  
"Well. Ash, Misty and I were wondering if you and Tracey would like to come over for dinner this evening because we have something to celebrate." Delia said.  
  
"Sure. That sounds nice. When would you like us to come over?" Professor Oak asked eagerly.  
  
"Well, how about you guys come on over in about an hour. I can't think of a better way to celebrate something good happening than with friends around." Delia laughed.  
  
"Great. We'll see you then." Professor Oak smiled and broke the connection.  
  
"Who was that on the phone, Professor?" Tracey asked as he and Carla walked into the room, startling Professor Oak.  
  
"Oh, Tracey. I didn't hear you come in. That was Delia on the phone and she wants all of us to come over for dinner in about an hour. She said something about having something to celebrate. Are you two up for that?" Professor Oak replied.  
  
"I'm up for anything. What about you, hon?" Tracey asked as he turned to Carla.  
  
"It's fine with me. I'd love to get to spend some more time with Ash and Misty." Carla smiled.  
  
"Okay. That settles it then. Let's go get ready and then we can go over to Delia's and see what this thing is that they have to celebrate." Professor Oak smiled.  
  
"Little does he know that we already know." Tracey whispered to Carla as soon as Professor Oak walked out of the room.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Back at the Ketchum house, Ash and Misty were up in the bedroom getting all of their things unpacked and put away. Ash smiled as he noticed that Misty had taken the Horsea necklace that he had bought for her on the first island and was fastening it around her neck.  
  
"I'm really glad that you like that necklace so much. I love seeing you so happy." Ash smiled.  
  
"I adore this necklace. I think the only thing I like better is my engagement ring." Misty said quietly as she kissed Ash's cheek.  
  
"You're amazing, Mist. No wonder I love you so much." Ash laughed as he stretched out on the bed and Misty lay down next to him.  
  
"It sure is good to be home." Misty sighed.  
  
"You got that right. I know one thing though. As much as I love just lying here and relaxing I need to get up because we're having dinner company any minute and if I stay here I'm going to end up falling asleep." Ash said as he stood up and stretched.  
  
"Yeah. Me too. I have an idea. Why don't we go downstairs and see if we can help your mom." Misty suggested as she took Ash by the hand and they walked down to the kitchen.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Ten minutes later, Professor Oak along with Tracey and Carla arrived at the front door of the Ketchum residence and rang the doorbell. It wasn't very long before Delia opened the door smiling.  
  
"Hi, Sam. How are you, Tracey? Oh, who's this?" Delia greeted, clearly puzzled when she saw Carla.  
  
"I'm great, Mrs. Ketchum. This is Carla. She flew back on the plane with us and is staying with us at the lab." Tracey smiled.  
  
"Oh. Well this afternoon has been absolutely full of wonderful surprises. It's very nice to meet you, Carla. I'm glad to have you here to have dinner with us." Delia smiled.  
  
"It's nice to meet you too. I'm glad that you allowed me to come." Carla greeted Delia shyly.  
  
"Well, now that everyone's here, let's get something to eat." Delia said as she led their three guests into the house.  
  
* * * * *  
  
As everyone was coming in the door, Ash and Misty were just coming down the stairs. They were happy to see that everyone had already arrived.  
  
"Hey, guys. Did you get Carla settled in okay?" Ash asked.  
  
"Yeah, we got her settled in. Amazingly we managed to do it without Muk completely attacking her." Tracey laughed.  
  
"Muk really likes Carla so the last part wasn't easy at all." Professor Oak laughed.  
  
"It's probably going to take a while to get used to some of them but I really do like all of the Pokemon at the lab." Carla couldn't help but laugh at herself.  
  
"Well, that's good. I'm glad that you're so happy there, Carla." Misty smiled.  
  
"I hate to interrupt all of the animated conversation but is anyone hungry?" Delia asked as she poked her head out of the kitchen.  
  
"YEAH!" Ash yelled as he ran into the kitchen with Pikachu as the others followed behind him, laughing.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Once they were all sitting around the table, Professor Oak decided that he was going to put an end to the games and find out what it was that Delia had them over to celebrate.  
  
"So Delia, what is this thing that you want to celebrate?" Professor Oak asked casually.  
  
"Well. The special occasion that I wanted you to come over and share with us is that the Ketchum family is going to soon be increasing by one." Delia smiled broadly.  
  
"What? When is this going to happen?" Professor Oak was pale with shock at what Delia had just said.  
  
"As soon as Misty and I set a date." Ash grinned as Tracey and Carla started laughing at the look on Professor Oak's face.  
  
"Hey! Whoa! Wait a minute. When did Ash and Misty get engaged?"  
  
"When we were on vacation. Apparently Ash proposed to Misty one night on the ship and Misty said yes." Delia explained happily.  
  
"No wonder you wanted to celebrate. That is absolutely wonderful news!" Professor Oak reached over and clapped Ash on the back. "Congratulations Ash and Misty."  
  
"Thanks, Professor. This is absolutely a dream come true." Misty smiled.  
  
"Why so quiet, Tracey? Hang on. You had something to do with this didn't you?" Professor Oak amusedly asked his young assistant.  
  
"Had something to do with it, no. Aware of it, yes. We were at dinner when Ash popped the question to Misty so Brock and I were both there. I knew all about the whole thing the entire time." Tracey answered.  
  
"Actually, Tracey, there's a little something about our being engaged that you don't know yet."  
  
"What are you talking about Ash?" Tracey was confused as he thought he knew the whole situation.  
  
"Well. Misty and I were talking about our upcoming wedding earlier today and I decided that I'm going to go a little untraditional so I'm not going to have a best man. I'm having two. I was wondering since you're one of my closest friends if you would be a best man for me, along with Brock?" Ash asked with a wide smile.  
  
"Man, Ash. I'm surprised. Of course I'll be your best man. Nothing would be a bigger honor." Tracey walked over and gave Ash a hug.  
  
"Thanks." Ash whispered.  
  
"My turn!" Misty laughed. "I'm following Ash's lead and having two maids of honor. Carla, would you do me that honor? Angelica already said she would."  
  
"Yeah. I don't know what to think. I've never been asked to be maid of honor for someone before." Carla laughed as she hugged Misty.  
  
"Hey. I was just thinking about something." Misty whispered in Ash's ear as she leaned in close to him.  
  
"What's that, sweetheart?" Ash replied.  
  
"I think we should take the same vacation again on our one year wedding anniversary whenever that is." Misty smiled.  
  
"That's the best idea I've ever heard in a while. But I think we should change one thing." Ash laughed a little as he looked at Tracey and Carla sitting across from them and holding hands.  
  
"What do you want to change about it?" Misty frowned.  
  
"Instead of getting one room, I think we're going to need three." Ash smiled as his pulled Misty into his arms and gave her a long passionate kiss, both totally oblivious to the buzz of conversation going on around them.  
  
A/N: I finally did it! I finished Secrets in the Skies. I really hope you guys have had as much fun reading this fic as I have writing it. But don't expect me to fade off into the sunset any time soon. I already have another fic in the works so keep an eye out for that in the near future. 


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